Strategy
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 5 platforms: niche 50/100, demand 78/100, competition 64/100, development cost 50/100. On Steam: 19,192 games and 957,599 players online; 17% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $18.04.
Niche
50/100
Demand (0–100)
78/100
Competition
64/100
Dev cost
50/100
Spend per player
$18.04
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
17%
Key findings
- Ranked #48 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (79/100) and weakest on itch.io (33/100).
- Competition is above typical: 64/100 vs a median of 57/100 — standing out will take a strong hook or marketing.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 50/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, 17% of games reached 500+ reviews — about usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 60% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 84/100 | 19,192 | 90/100 | 33/100 | 57/100 |
| itch.io | 81/100 | 67,928 | 87/100 | 33/100 | 51/100 |
| Yandex Games | 71/100 | 416 | 48/100 | 61/100 | 43/100 |
| Google Play | 71/100 | 81% | 71/100 | 45/100 | 49/100 |
| App Store | 84/100 | 38% | 26/100 | 79/100 | 51/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Sid Meier’s Civilization VIFiraxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) · $59.99
Hearts of Iron IVParadox Development Studio · $49.99
Football Manager 2024Sports Interactive · $59.99
Indie
FactorioWube Software LTD. · $35
RimWorldLudeon Studios · $34.99
Slay the SpireMega Crit · $24.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology