Do I ship it?

GamesSettingsRome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roman game?

Rome

Of 68 developers who shipped a Roman 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.. 109 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×886 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 109 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 130% on the market, 109 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Rome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $5.1k → $3.5k → $15k → $3.6k → $1.2k → $16k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Rome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $72k (exactly $71,976)
Top 5% $556k (exactly $556,277)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 247
Announced 109
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 130% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Rome
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 18,178 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $71k, 1 in 20 over $550k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Rome

22 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Management + Rome Fair $64k 21 devs
  2. RTS + Rome Fair $64k 12 devs
  3. Turn-Based Combat + Rome Fair $16k 8 devs
  4. Turn-Based Strategy + Rome Fair $9.0k 15 devs
  5. City Builder + Rome Poor odds $423k 9 devs
  6. Resource Management + Rome Poor odds $160k 12 devs
  7. Choices Matter + Rome Poor odds $160k 10 devs
  8. Simulation + Rome Poor odds $64k 27 devs
  9. Tactical + Rome Poor odds $26k 10 devs
  10. Economy + Rome Poor odds $17k 11 devs
  11. Strategy + Rome Poor odds $16k 32 devs
  12. Combat + Rome Poor odds $6.5k 16 devs
  13. RPG + Rome Poor odds $4.6k 19 devs
  14. Action + Rome Poor odds $3.6k 20 devs
  15. Exploration + Rome Poor odds $3.4k 10 devs
  16. Adventure + Rome Poor odds $3.0k 20 devs
  17. Turn-Based Tactics + Rome Poor odds $1.0k 9 devs
  18. Building + Rome Dead $556k 6 devs
  19. Sandbox + Rome Dead $556k 6 devs
  20. Hack and Slash + Rome Dead $4.6k 6 devs
  21. Grand Strategy + Rome Dead $3.4k 7 devs
  22. Wargame + Rome Dead $3.0k 5 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition older $29.99 54,547 87% 1.6M $49M (exactly $49,075,936) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Imperator: Rome older $39.99 19,492 65% 585k $23M (exactly $23,384,552) Paradox Development Studio
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Total War: ATTILA older $19.99 26,918 82% 808k $16M (exactly $16,142,725) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood older $19.99 24,958 88% 749k $15M (exactly $14,967,313) Ubisoft Montreal
Ryse: Son of Rome older $9.99 38,308 87% 1.1M $11M (exactly $11,480,908) Crytek
Total War: ROME REMASTERED older $29.99 12,627 77% 379k $11M (exactly $11,360,512) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
The Forgotten City older $24.99 11,159 96% 335k $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) Modern Storyteller
Expeditions: Rome older $44.99 5,156 86% 155k $7.0M (exactly $6,959,053) Logic Artists
We Who Are About To Die · EA older $21.99 8,134 88% 244k $5.4M (exactly $5,366,000) Jordy Lakiere
Citadelum $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) Abylight Barcelona
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged $24.99 882 66% 26k $661k (exactly $661,235) PersonaeGame Studio
Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder $24.99 742 83% 22k $556k (exactly $556,277) Coreffect Interactive
Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator · EA $24.99 612 81% 18k $459k (exactly $458,816) Contec Games
Pax Augusta $24.99 564 69% 17k $423k (exactly $422,831) Roger Gassmann
Bloodgrounds $19.99 561 77% 17k $336k (exactly $336,432) Exordium Games
Never Second in Rome $12.99 637 81% 19k $248k (exactly $248,239) Alessandro Roberti
Gods of Sand $9.99 720 86% 22k $216k (exactly $215,784) Achenar Studios
Summa Expeditionis $19.99 305 68% 9.2k $183k (exactly $182,908) Lobico Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.