Games › Auto Battler › Auto Battler + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Auto Battler?
Auto Battler + Futuristic
Of 37 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 57 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 $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is up 230% on the market; 57 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $776 (exactly $776) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) |
| Top 5% | $263k (exactly $263,023) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 69 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.00 |
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 230% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, PvE, Roguelike
- Price point
- $5.00 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 17,232 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Auto Battler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ProgrammingFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Action RTSFair
- + SimulationFair
- + EconomyFair
- + SandboxFair
- + CyberpunkFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + CatsFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Desktop Defender 2025 · $263k 
Holder of Place 2025 · $86k 
CyberTD 2023 · $30k 
Flaregate Network 2026 · $26k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Desktop Defender | $4.99 | 1,757 92% | 53k | $263k (exactly $263,023) | Conradical Games | |
| | Holder of Place | $9.99 | 288 90% | 8.6k | $86k (exactly $86,314) | Ardent Fields | |
| | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
| | Flaregate Network | $14.99 | 58 77% | 1.7k | $26k (exactly $26,083) | Keycard Studio, LLC | |
 | NebuLeet | $15.99 | 53 90% | 1.6k | $25k (exactly $25,424) | quasilyte | |
 | Hyper Empire | $11.99 | 46 78% | 1.4k | $17k (exactly $16,546) | Fair Weather Studios | |
 | Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights | $19.99 | 21 61% | 630 | $13k (exactly $12,594) | Gunpowder Games, Focuspoint Studios | |
 | Curtain Call: Chronicles of Heroes | $5.99 | 34 67% | 1.0k | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) | Life Trust Foundation | |
 | Outcasts of Orion | older | $7.99 | 22 86% | 660 | $5.3k (exactly $5,273) | We Are Cats |
 | Discremental | $4.99 | 28 53% | 840 | $4.2k (exactly $4,192) | Elite Gorgon Games | |
 | Bottom Squad | $5.99 | 16 62% | 480 | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) | Family Devs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.