Games › Trading › Trading + War
Should I ship a War Trading game?
Trading + War
Only 15 developers shipped a War Trading game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Europa Universalis V, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $45M, ×72656 the market median. Revenue is up 565% on the market; 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $807 (exactly $807) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,249) |
| Top 25% | $85k (exactly $84,572) |
| Top 5% | $46M (exactly $45,627,794) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 31 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 565% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 33%, 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
- Trading
- Price point
- $11.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 26,590 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Europa Universalis V | $59.99 | 25,353 66% | 761k | $46M (exactly $45,627,794) | Paradox Tinto | |
| | Grand Ages: Medieval | older | $19.99 | 1,565 47% | 47k | $939k (exactly $938,530) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | SuperPower 3 | older | $29.99 | 982 10% | 29k | $884k (exactly $883,505) | GolemLabs |
| | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
| | Imperiums: Greek Wars | older | $29.99 | 453 83% | 14k | $408k (exactly $407,564) | Kube Games |
| | Primitive Society Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 647 83% | 19k | $388k (exactly $388,006) | YSH BigDove |
| | Alek - The Lost Kingdom | · EA older | $19.99 | 392 76% | 12k | $235k (exactly $235,082) | Jessy Lemieux |
| | Military Incremental Complex | $9.99 | 692 82% | 21k | $207k (exactly $207,392) | Space Kraken Studios | |
| | Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) | · EA older | $23.99 | 267 72% | 8.0k | $192k (exactly $192,160) | Happy Daram Inc. |
| | The Emperor and State | · EA older | $14.99 | 314 55% | 9.4k | $141k (exactly $141,206) | 涂途 |
| | Monopoly: Star Wars™ Heroes vs. Villains | $29.99 | 94 39% | 2.8k | $85k (exactly $84,572) | Behaviour Interactive Inc. | |
| | Globalism | · EA | $29.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $15k (exactly $15,295) | igelanium games |
| | Commander Bug Wars | $9.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | GoldenGod Games | |
| | New Stars | $19.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) | adamjr | |
| | Orbit Economica | $24.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $2.2k (exactly $2,249) | Phoenix Smith | |
| | MA 2 – President Simulator | $4.99 | 13 69% | 390 | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) | Oxiwyle Inc. | |
| | Eon Empires | $9.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Aeonforge Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.