RTS gameplay
Every paid Steam game tagged RTS, ranked by our estimated lifetime revenue. 3,445 games in the catalog, 1,983 with a sales estimate.
Games
3,445
Active paid titles tagged
Total Gross
$5.7B
Sum of estimated lifetime revenue
Median
$11.5K
Half earn less, half more
Hit Rate
31.8%
631 games earned $100K+
Revenue share - top 5 vs rest
- Hearts of Iron IV 21.8%
- Manor Lords 5.4%
- Crusader Kings III 4.3%
- Total War: WARHAMMER II 3.8%
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition 3.4%
- Other (1978 games) 61.2%
Top 25 earners
The highest-earning RTS games by our estimator.
| # | Game | Released | Reviews | Peak CCU | Est. Units | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hearts of Iron IV Paradox Development Studio | 2016-06-06 | 376,916 | 93,196 | 24,876,456 | $1,243,574,035 |
| 2 |  Manor Lords Slavic Magic | 2024-04-26 | 91,731 | 170,000 | 7,650,000 | $305,882,308 |
| 3 |  Crusader Kings III Paradox Development Studio | 2020-09-01 | 143,788 | 98,474 | 4,950,079 | $247,454,449 |
| 4 |  Total War: WARHAMMER II CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | 2017-09-28 | 121,473 | 84,254 | 3,644,190 | $218,614,958 |
| 5 |  Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, CaptureAge, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, Feral Interactive | 2019-11-14 | 182,409 | 38,725 | 5,622,883 | $196,744,676 |
| 6 |  Total War: WARHAMMER III CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive | 2022-02-16 | 148,642 | 166,519 | 3,270,124 | $196,174,739 |
| 7 |  Frostpunk 11 bit studios | 2018-04-24 | 137,419 | 29,195 | 4,645,149 | $139,308,019 |
| 8 |  Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios | 2021-10-28 | 95,682 | 64,911 | 2,105,004 | $84,179,110 |
| 9 |  Total War: THREE KINGDOMS CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | 2019-05-23 | 93,727 | 191,816 | 2,099,485 | $83,958,405 |
| 10 |  Company of Heroes 2 Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) | 2013-06-25 | 113,172 | 161,908 | 4,129,973 | $82,558,160 |
| 11 |  Total War: WARHAMMER CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Linux), Feral Interactive (Mac) | 2016-05-24 | 52,338 | 111,909 | 1,291,675 | $77,487,583 |
| 12 |  Imperator: Rome Paradox Development Studio | 2019-04-25 | 26,910 | 13,616 | 1,776,060 | $71,024,639 |
| 13 |  Kenshi Lo-Fi Games | 2018-12-06 | 116,714 | 11,572 | 2,100,852 | $62,973,039 |
| 14 |  Banished Shining Rock Software LLC | 2014-02-18 | 43,343 | 24,568 | 3,120,696 | $62,382,713 |
| 15 |  Age of Mythology: Extended Edition SkyBox Labs, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires | 2014-05-08 | 36,288 | 11,010 | 1,979,345 | $59,360,557 |
| 16 |  Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive | 2013-09-02 | 88,357 | 118,240 | 1,943,854 | $58,296,181 |
| 17 |  Dyson Sphere Program Youthcat Studio | 2021-01-20 | 91,731 | 59,339 | 2,817,976 | $56,331,340 |
| 18 |  Company of Heroes 3 Relic Entertainment | 2023-02-23 | 40,210 | 19,397 | 913,324 | $54,790,307 |
| 19 |  Age of Empires II (Retired) Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires | 2013-04-09 | 102,860 | 27,618 | 2,468,640 | $49,348,114 |
| 20 |  ENDLESS Spaceâ„¢ 2 AMPLITUDE Studios | 2017-05-18 | 23,095 | 53,435 | 1,222,210 | $48,876,178 |
| 21 |  Total War: SHOGUN 2 The Creative Assembly | - | 67,844 | 53,955 | 1,618,650 | $48,478,568 |
| 22 |  Anno 1800 Ubisoft Mainz | 2019-04-16 | 32,363 | 25,214 | 758,585 | $45,507,514 |
| 23 |  Wandering Sword The Swordman Studio | 2023-09-14 | 45,490 | 22,618 | 1,819,600 | $45,471,804 |
| 24 |  Men of War: Assault Squad 2 Digitalmindsoft | 2014-05-15 | 46,688 | 9,720 | 1,413,258 | $42,383,607 |
| 25 |  Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires | 2020-10-15 | 54,996 | 18,142 | 1,209,912 | $42,334,821 |
Releases per year
Is RTS trending up or fading? Bars show new paid Steam releases with this tag each year. Green flecks are hits (≥$100K est. lifetime).
19
2010
32
2011
16
2012
27
2013
64
2014
70
2015
71
2016
97
2017
76
2018
98
2019
132
2020
147
2021
154
2022
184
2023
290
2024
361
2025
320
2026
Top upcoming
Highest-wishlist unreleased RTS games.
| # | Game | WL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 Creative Assembly | 7 |
| 2 |  Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV KING Art | 17 |
| 3 |  Dust Front RTS rtsDimon | 55 |
| 4 |  Anvil Empires Siege Camp | 69 |
| 5 |  Stronghold 4 Firefly Studios | 80 |
| 6 |  Game of Thrones: War for Westeros PlaySide | 109 |
| 7 |  KingFish Firevolt | 174 |
| 8 |  Espiocracy Ex Vivo Studios | 177 |
| 9 |  Viking City Builder PlayWay S.A., President Studio | 195 |
| 10 | 214 |
Top recent (12 months)
Highest-earning RTS games released in the past year.
| # | Game | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $31,929,603 |
| 2 |  | $24,156,773 |
| 3 |  | $18,457,766 |
| 4 |  | $14,139,745 |
| 5 |  | $4,597,467 |
| 6 |  | $4,153,922 |
| 7 |  | $3,597,500 |
| 8 |  | $2,963,972 |
| 9 |  | $2,430,240 |
| 10 |  | $2,223,688 |