Do I ship it?

GamesTradingTrading + War

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 565% on the market, 31 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading + War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $207k → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading + War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
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.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Trading
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
War
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Trading
Price point
$11.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 66% positive over 26,590 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $84k, 1 in 20 over $45M.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Trading with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MiningFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  2. + Score AttackFair13 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  3. + MMORPGPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  4. + Character CustomizationPoor odds26 devs · median $60k · 137 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds23 devs · median $47k · 84 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds24 devs · median $47k · 82 announced
  7. + FlightPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  8. + SportsPoor odds11 devs · median $34k · 14 announced
  9. + CollectathonPoor odds28 devs · median $30k · 65 announced
  10. + PhysicsPoor odds23 devs · median $27k · 71 announced
  11. + DrivingPoor odds23 devs · median $24k · 48 announced
  12. + LootPoor odds23 devs · median $23k · 60 announced

All 109 pairs on the Trading page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.