Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Auto Battler?

Crafting + Auto Battler

Of 66 developers who shipped a Crafting Auto Battler 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.. 117 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×333 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 117 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 117 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 66
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $1.1k → $22k → $3.6k → $6.4k → $2.2k → $3.2k (still earning) → $19k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 66
Bottom 30% $807 (exactly $807)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,988)
Top 5% $209k (exactly $209,250)
Developers, 2 yr 66
Released games 122
Announced 117
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 up 30% on the market, supply 135% 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.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Auto Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting, Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Idler
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 7,834 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Yaoling: Mythical Journey 2025 · $1.7M ShapeHero Factory 2025 · $713k Nomad Idle 2025 · $255k Botworld Odyssey 2024 · $209k Turnbound 2026 · $201k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yaoling: Mythical Journey $19.99 2,854 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,544) RAYKA STUDIO
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Botworld Odyssey $25.00 279 76% 8.4k $209k (exactly $209,250) Featherweight Games
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
Ascend From Nine Mountains · EA $19.99 324 92% 9.7k $194k (exactly $194,303) Nine Ascension Studios
Desktop Raid $8.99 672 76% 20k $181k (exactly $181,238) Lee_Studio
Lootun older $5.49 1,040 93% 31k $171k (exactly $171,288) ArrowSoftGames
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Magic Research 2 older $5.99 610 92% 18k $110k (exactly $109,617) Maticolotto
Gargadusa's Tower $8.99 294 90% 8.8k $79k (exactly $79,292) The Math Team
Between Adventures IDLE · EA $7.99 319 71% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Loop Forge

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