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Should I ship a Strategy Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Strategy
Of 61 developers who shipped a Strategy Swordplay game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 81 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×731 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 81 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,126) |
| Top 5% | $459k (exactly $458,816) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 184 |
| Announced | 81 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 100% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Strategy; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 25,357 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
FOR HONOR™ 2017 · $98M 
Ghostrunner 2020 · $42M 
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS 2025 · $41M 
Wandering Sword 2023 · $28M 
We Who Are About To Die 2022 · EA · $5.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FOR HONOR™ | older | $29.99 | 108,492 69% | 3.3M | $98M (exactly $97,610,252) | Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Blue Byte) |
| | Ghostrunner | older | $29.99 | 46,818 91% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $42,122,155) | One More Level, 3D Realms, Slipgate Iro… (One More Level, 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks™, All in! Games) |
| | DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS | $69.99 | 19,578 92% | 587k | $41M (exactly $41,107,927) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | Wandering Sword | older | $24.99 | 37,034 94% | 1.1M | $28M (exactly $27,764,390) | The Swordman Studio |
| | We Who Are About To Die | · EA older | $21.99 | 8,134 88% | 244k | $5.4M (exactly $5,366,000) | Jordy Lakiere |
 | NORSE: Oath of Blood | $34.99 | 2,535 56% | 76k | $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) | Arctic Hazard | |
 | The Bloodline | · EA older | $19.99 | 3,769 82% | 113k | $2.3M (exactly $2,260,269) | Shieldbearer Studios |
 | Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten | older | $59.99 | 759 80% | 23k | $1.4M (exactly $1,365,972) | AQUAPLUS |
 | The Guild II Renaissance | older | $9.99 | 3,540 82% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,938) | Runeforge Game Studio |
 | Driftland: The Magic Revival | older | $19.99 | 1,439 73% | 43k | $863k (exactly $862,968) | Star Drifters |
 | Utawarerumono: Past and Present Rediscovered | $59.99 | 289 83% | 8.7k | $520k (exactly $520,113) | AQUAPLUS | |
 | Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 612 81% | 18k | $459k (exactly $458,816) | Contec Games |
 | Backpack Jianghu | $13.99 | 565 80% | 17k | $237k (exactly $237,130) | 背包工作室 | |
 | Talisman: Digital 5th Edition | $29.99 | 227 70% | 6.8k | $204k (exactly $204,232) | Nomad Games | |
 | Warlord: Awaji | $24.99 | 256 78% | 7.7k | $192k (exactly $191,923) | Darkmatter Games | |
 | SeaCret 1 | · EA | $39.99 | 99 61% | 3.0k | $119k (exactly $118,770) | Dalas |
 | 小小侠客模拟器 | $2.99 | 1,103 86% | 33k | $99k (exactly $98,939) | 小小游戏 | |
 | Queen's Blade Re:Build | $27.77 | 93 70% | 2.8k | $77k (exactly $77,478) | SE Mobile and Online Co.,Ltd., C&R… (SE Mobile and Online Co.,Ltd., C&R Creative Studios) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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