Games › Strategy › Strategy + Western
Should I ship a Western Strategy game?
Strategy + Western
Of 49 developers who shipped a Western Strategy 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×209 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 66 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,618) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,529) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $131,290) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 49 |
| Released games | 129 |
| Announced | 66 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 down 25% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Resource Management, Management, Simulation
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 2,187 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Desperados III 2020 · $14M 
War of Rights 2018 · EA · $12M 
Railway Empire 2018 · $6.5M 
Outlaws of the Old West 2019 · EA · $3.3M 
Railway Empire 2 2023 · $2.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Desperados III | older | $39.99 | 11,880 96% | 356k | $14M (exactly $14,252,436) | Mimimi Games |
| | War of Rights | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,441 88% | 403k | $12M (exactly $12,092,868) | Campfire Games |
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Outlaws of the Old West | · EA older | $19.99 | 5,584 58% | 168k | $3.3M (exactly $3,348,725) | Virtual Basement LLC |
| | Railway Empire 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,966 72% | 59k | $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) | Gaming Minds Studios |
 | Hard West | older | $19.99 | 4,103 74% | 123k | $2.5M (exactly $2,460,569) | CreativeForge Games |
 | Hard West 2 | older | $29.99 | 2,717 80% | 82k | $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) | Ice Code Games |
 | SteamWorld Build | older | $24.99 | 1,884 83% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,435) | The Station |
 | Arco | older | $19.99 | 2,185 96% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) | Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fáyer |
 | Railroad Corporation | older | $35.99 | 1,094 74% | 33k | $1.2M (exactly $1,181,192) | Corbie Games |
 | Railroad Corporation 2 | $39.99 | 376 69% | 11k | $451k (exactly $451,087) | Corbie Games | |
 | Nightmare Frontier | $24.99 | 187 69% | 5.6k | $140k (exactly $140,194) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Deep Corp | · EA | $11.99 | 365 89% | 11k | $131k (exactly $131,290) | KishMish Games |
 | Wild West Supermarket Simulator | $12.99 | 168 63% | 5.0k | $65k (exactly $65,470) | SunDust | |
 | DEAD END COLOSSEUM SS | $10.99 | 138 83% | 4.1k | $45k (exactly $45,499) | TLACHTLI | |
 | Gold Miner:Classic Edition | $3.99 | 350 82% | 11k | $42k (exactly $41,895) | GameRival | |
 | Brawl To The West | $8.99 | 139 71% | 4.2k | $37k (exactly $37,488) | GagaRush | |
 | Bonesaw | $6.66 | 179 89% | 5.4k | $36k (exactly $35,764) | Blood Pact Studios | |
 | ColdRidge | $9.99 | 97 73% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Frog Collective | |
 | Barrel Roll | $4.99 | 188 96% | 5.6k | $28k (exactly $28,144) | Barrel Roll |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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