Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Automation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Automation Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Automation

Of 31 developers who shipped an Automation Action-Adventure 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.. 87 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $11k, ×17 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4587 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 87 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 17.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 87 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Automation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $150k → $210 → $21k → $11k → $6.1k → $57k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Automation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Median $11k (exactly $10,788)
Top 25% $108k (exactly $107,557)
Top 5% $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 76
Announced 87
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 down 20% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure, Automation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Crafting, Building
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 31,305 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 87 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Soulmask 2026 · $17M Pax Autocratica 2026 · EA · $2.9M TerraTech Worlds 2024 · EA · $1.8M Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure 2025 · $1.7M Eden Crafters 2026 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio
Pax Autocratica · EA $29.99 3,202 91% 96k $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) Multiverse
TerraTech Worlds · EA older $29.99 2,027 62% 61k $1.8M (exactly $1,823,692) Payload Studios
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure $29.99 1,867 82% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) Massive Miniteam
Eden Crafters $19.99 2,507 85% 75k $1.5M (exactly $1,503,448) Osaris Games
AETHUS $19.99 2,030 94% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,217,391) Pawsmonaut Games
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
Orebound · EA $24.99 945 77% 28k $708k (exactly $708,466) Emberforge
Grand Emprise: Time Travel Survival older $19.99 807 69% 24k $484k (exactly $483,958) Tbjbu2
JUNKPUNK · EA older $15.99 641 60% 19k $307k (exactly $307,488) SCT
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
Parking Garage Simulator · EA $11.99 203 38% 6.1k $73k (exactly $73,019) Root Games
My Little Cafe Nightmare $8.99 210 90% 6.3k $57k (exactly $56,637) SethMadDev

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