Grand strategy
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 52/100, demand 52/100, competition 42/100, development cost 56/100. On Steam: 974 games and 205,454 players online; 27% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $39.12.
Niche
52/100
Demand (0–100)
52/100
Competition
42/100
Dev cost
56/100
Spend per player
$39.12
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
27%
Key findings
- Ranked #36 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (63/100) and weakest on App Store (43/100).
- Competition is below typical: 42/100 vs a median of 57/100 — a new game has an easier time getting noticed.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 56/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, 27% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 38% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 69/100 | 974 | 47/100 | 53/100 | 67/100 |
| itch.io | 49/100 | 82 | 19/100 | 63/100 | 55/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 47/100 | 66% | 48/100 | 50/100 | 54/100 |
| App Store | 41/100 | 62% | 54/100 | 43/100 | 50/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Sid Meier’s Civilization VIFiraxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) · $59.99
Sid Meier's Civilization VFiraxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) · $29.99
Hearts of Iron IVParadox Development Studio · $49.99
Indie
Sins of a Solar Empire: RebellionIronclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment · $19.99
Age of History IIŁukasz Jakowski · $5.99
Dune: Spice WarsShiro Games · $34.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology