Do I ship it?

GamesAuto BattlerAuto Battler + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Auto Battler?

Auto Battler + Dark Fantasy

Of 80 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 202 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×4.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×672 the market median. Revenue is up 395% on the market; 202 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 395% on the market, 202 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 80
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $9.3k → $19k → $4.5k → $839 → $8.4k → $1.5k (still earning) → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 80
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.9k (exactly $2,876)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,432)
Top 5% $422k (exactly $422,045)
Developers, 2 yr 80
Released games 155
Announced 202
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.66

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 395% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Dungeon Crawler, RPG
Price point
$6.66 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.66.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 17,712 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.9k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 202 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Auto Battler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ProgrammingFair14 devs · median $14k · 14 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonFair17 devs · median $13k · 16 announced
  3. + AutomationFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  4. + Action RTSFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  5. + SimulationFair219 devs · median $2.5k · 293 announced
  6. + EconomyFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  7. + SandboxFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  8. + CyberpunkFair20 devs · median $1.7k · 25 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair23 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  10. + CatsFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair78 devs · median $1.1k · 93 announced
  12. + SwordplayFair13 devs · median $1.1k · 8 announced

All 119 pairs on the Auto Battler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Hadean Tactics older $19.99 1,725 89% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) Emberfish Games
Path of Achra older $9.99 3,166 98% 95k $949k (exactly $948,850) Ulfsire
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Be My Horde · EA older $9.99 2,052 85% 62k $615k (exactly $614,984) Polished Games
Dungeon 100 older $11.99 1,562 81% 47k $562k (exactly $561,851) 可布和常常诶
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Skull Horde $12.99 1,083 81% 32k $422k (exactly $422,045) 8BitSkull
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Throne of Bone $16.99 327 85% 9.8k $167k (exactly $166,672) Windmill Slam
Bones and Coins $7.99 638 72% 19k $153k (exactly $152,929) Troyd Games
Journey to Incrementalia $4.99 894 86% 27k $134k (exactly $133,832) Adam Travers
Godslayer Arena · EA $14.99 257 76% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Hippo Rider Games
Orc Incremental $7.99 444 75% 13k $106k (exactly $106,427) Nice Ride

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