Do I ship it?

Games › Exploration › Exploration + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Auto Battler?

Exploration + Auto Battler

Of 51 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 73 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $11k, ×23 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1478 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 73 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 22.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 73 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24k → $16k → $19k → $6.7k → $24k → $7.2k → $21k (still earning) → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Median $11k (exactly $10,789)
Top 25% $72k (exactly $71,940)
Top 5% $702k (exactly $701,842)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 104
Announced 73
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 150% on the market, supply 15% 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.

Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration, Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Adventure, RPG
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 13,615 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.9k, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $71k, 1 in 20 over $700k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.9k. 6 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair31 devs · median $6.7k · 42 announced
  3. + SpaceshipsFair22 devs · median $3.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair122 devs · median $2.2k · 109 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds12 devs · median $192k · 35 announced
  7. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds23 devs · median $82k · 61 announced
  8. + Martial ArtsPoor odds25 devs · median $69k · 90 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds146 devs · median $58k · 354 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  11. + FMVPoor odds45 devs · median $27k · 76 announced
  12. + FarmingPoor odds41 devs · median $24k · 58 announced

All 258 pairs on the Exploration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Songs of Silence 2024 · $2.1M Yaoling: Mythical Journey 2025 · $1.7M Horripilant 2026 · $702k Legend Creatures(传奇生物) 2020 · $566k Skull Horde 2026 · $422k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Songs of Silence $29.99 2,367 79% 71k $2.1M (exactly $2,129,590) Chimera Entertainment
Yaoling: Mythical Journey $19.99 2,854 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,544) RAYKA STUDIO
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Legend Creatures(传奇生物) older $4.99 3,780 89% 113k $566k (exactly $565,866) HideChara
Skull Horde $12.99 1,083 81% 32k $422k (exactly $422,045) 8BitSkull
TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer $4.99 1,528 78% 46k $229k (exactly $228,742) AZAMATIKA
Seer's Gambit $14.99 490 76% 15k $220k (exactly $220,353) Unleash The Giraffe
Villages & Dungeons $6.99 1,036 91% 31k $217k (exactly $217,249) CaCaFrog Studio
Botworld Odyssey $25.00 279 76% 8.4k $209k (exactly $209,250) Featherweight Games
NationWar2:Chronicle $16.99 378 78% 11k $193k (exactly $192,667) Yiming
Desktop Raid $8.99 672 76% 20k $181k (exactly $181,238) Lee_Studio

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