The niche at a glance

War on Steam: 4,553 released games, 1,300 in the last 12 months, 2,003 announced and still unreleased. Median lifetime reviews: 11. 47% of them never reached 10 reviews. Free to play: 13%. War is a Steam store tag, applied by the developer and refined by players; a game carries several tags at once, so niche counts overlap and do not add up to the size of the Steam catalogue. Data as of .

What releases end up with

lifetime reviews · released 3 years ago to 90 days ago · failures included1,648 releases
p100
p252
median11
p7567
p90647
47% of them never reached 10 reviewsMedian price $7.99 · 13% free-to-play

Releases per year

outcomes count only games released more than 90 days ago, anything newer has not had time to gather reviews
2019
138med 136 · 22% unseen
2020
251med 48 · 27% unseen
2021
378med 20 · 39% unseen
2022
440med 22 · 34% unseen
2023
505med 16 · 36% unseen
2024
541med 15 · 42% unseen
2025
559med 15 · 42% unseen
2026
808med 3 · 62% unseen · 368 too fresh

War × mechanics: what the pairings end up with

every mechanics tag shipped with War at least 5 times · same window× mechanics× presentation
share reaching 500 reviews, shrunk towards the catalogue · click a row to open the concept
War ×3 y12 mmedian≥500adjusted vs chancelast hitwho made it
Open World100293130.0% 22%–40%26.1%
ordinary ×1.23168 d
Gray Zone Warfare
Arma Reforger
UBOAT
Gray Zone Warfare · Arma Reforger · UBOAT
Turn-Based411612334.1% 22%–49%25.1%
cliché ×2.74145 d
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
MENACE
Terra Invicta
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era · MENACE · Terra Invicta
Sandbox133436527.8% 21%–36%25.1%
cliché ×1.56166 d
Battlefield™ 6
Arma Reforger
UBOAT
Battlefield™ 6 · Arma Reforger · UBOAT
Extraction Shooter623,570under 2024.4%
cliché ×2.25219 d
Arena Breakout: Infinite
Gray Zone Warfare
Escape from Tarkov
Arena Breakout: Infinite · Gray Zone Warfare · Escape from Tarkov
Colony Sim311012132.3% 19%–50%22.2%
cliché ×1.90251 d
Diplomacy is Not an Option
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
下一站江湖Ⅱ
Diplomacy is Not an Option · Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition · 下一站江湖Ⅱ
Stealth58133427.6% 18%–40%22.2%
ordinary ×1.4895 d
METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
Nuclear Option
METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version
METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER · Nuclear Option · METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version
Real-Time with Pause16390under 2020.4%
cliché ×6.76281 d
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North
Diplomacy is Not an Option
Terra Invicta
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North · Diplomacy is Not an Option · Terra Invicta
Class-Based2673530.8% 17%–50%20.3%
cliché ×1.84173 d
Onward
Tower Dominion
Forefront
Onward · Tower Dominion · Forefront
Martial Arts20910030.0% 15%–52%18.3%
ordinary ×1.13215 d
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS
下一站江湖Ⅱ
龙胤立志传
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS · 下一站江湖Ⅱ · 龙胤立志传
4X80312721.3% 14%–31%18.3%
cliché ×11.52166 d
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Europa Universalis V
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
Sid Meier's Civilization VII · Europa Universalis V · Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
Hack and Slash55171621.8% 13%–34%17.8%
ordinary ×0.97168 d
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS
Myth of Empires
下一站江湖Ⅱ
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS · Myth of Empires · 下一站江湖Ⅱ
City Builder67174120.9% 13%–32%17.6%
cliché ×2.50251 d
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Bellwright
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
Sid Meier's Civilization VII · Bellwright · Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition
Inventory Management35143322.9% 12%–39%17.0%
ordinary ×0.82196 d
Gunsmith Simulator
CONSCRIPT: Director’s Cut
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes
Gunsmith Simulator · CONSCRIPT: Director’s Cut · Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes
CRPG18546under 2016.7%
ordinary ×0.98194 d
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
MENACE
Xenonauts 2
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader · MENACE · Xenonauts 2
Management175612717.7% 13%–24%16.6%
cliché ×1.67124 d
UBOAT
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
Terra Invicta
UBOAT · Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era · Terra Invicta
109 pairings cleared 20 releases; 66 more never reached 5 and are not listed. Compared against 6.7% for games that carry any tags at all.

About these numbers

“Adjusted” is the share pulled towards the catalogue with the weight of twenty releases: the top of any ranked list is optimistic (out of a hundred pairings one will show 35 % on 23 releases by luck alone), and the adjustment is what stops a small lucky group from leading. The band next to the raw share is the 95 % interval. This list is the same for everyone today; the second opinion is the description-based one on Pitch comps.