Games › Runner › Runner + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Runner?
Runner + Artificial Intelligence
Only 9 developers shipped an AI Runner in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Vanguard - Idle Auto Battler, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 10 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $60 against a market of $480. 10 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $60 (exactly $60) |
| Top 25% | $120 (exactly $120) |
| Top 5% | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 45 |
| Announced | 10 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $1.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Runner
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Runner
- Price point
- $1.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 54% positive over 74 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 10 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Runner with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + 4 Player LocalPoor odds
- + MusicPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Interactive FictionPoor odds
Comparable games
Dungeon Warriors 2021 · EA · $4.5k 
MTBF 2023 · EA · $1.4k 
Synthwave FURY 2023 · $1.2k 
MOF 2021 · EA · $1.1k 
The Netrunner Awaken1ng 2022 · $1.1k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dungeon Warriors | · EA older | $5.99 | 25 52% | 750 | $4.5k (exactly $4,492) | FireStone Studio |
| | MTBF | · EA older | $7.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | Grabba Guild Games LLC |
| | Synthwave FURY | older | $2.99 | 13 30% | 390 | $1.2k (exactly $1,166) | New England Interactive |
| | MOF | · EA older | $11.99 | 3 0% | 90 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | GPC_DEV |
| | The Netrunner Awaken1ng | older | $11.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | Cube Overflow |
 | ENGLISH A-GAME | older | $15.00 | 2 50% | 60 | $900 (exactly $900) | Jankowski Adam |
 | Mini Kart Racing | older | $3.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $718 (exactly $718) | IronyDev |
 | Vanguard - Idle Auto Battler | $2.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $628 (exactly $628) | Beep2Bleep | |
 | Escape From The Sun | older | $4.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | SpaceGames |
 | Highway Speeder | older | $3.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $598 (exactly $598) | Bundem Games |
 | Triple Jump | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | Lee Saenz | |
 | Warp Dash | $3.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | Adweb | |
 | SlimeIsland | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | ZHOU YANG | |
 | Green Realm | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | GameNote | |
 | Loreen's Purgatory | $0.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $30 (exactly $30) | Omega Gaming | |
 | Echo Stalker | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Riga | |
 | LabyrAInth | · EA | $8.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | G.U.F.O. Games |
 | FALL | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Wise In A Well |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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