Do I ship it?

Games › Auto Battler › Auto Battler + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Auto Battler?

Auto Battler + Grid-Based Movement

Of 20 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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.. 39 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $62k, ×132 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $4.5k → $4.2k → $1.2k → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,431)
Top 5% $63k (exactly $62,637)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 42
Announced 39
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 75% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Auto Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Auto Battler, Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Creature Collector, Dungeon Crawler
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 677 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $62k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Auto Battler with a different second tag, 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

Disgaea 6 Complete 2022 · $696k Tiny Tactics 2022 · $198k Dragon Ruins II 2025 · $63k Dragon Ruins 2024 · $55k Corrupted: Dawn of Havoc 2024 · EA · $34k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disgaea 6 Complete older $59.99 387 63% 12k $696k (exactly $696,484) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Tiny Tactics older $9.99 661 82% 20k $198k (exactly $198,102) Tiny Forge Gaming
Dragon Ruins II $9.99 209 87% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,637) Graverobber Foundation
Dragon Ruins older $4.99 365 90% 11k $55k (exactly $54,640) Graverobber Foundation
Corrupted: Dawn of Havoc · EA older $14.99 75 65% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) 36Litters
Gold and Graves $5.99 180 86% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) Yoon
Godless older $9.99 95 90% 2.9k $28k (exactly $28,472) Danil Kalyupa
Maze Keeper $8.99 84 47% 2.5k $23k (exactly $22,655) Spaceward Games
Tetra Tactics older $14.99 48 79% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) Jabari Alii, Adrian Marple, manadream
Eterna: Heroes Fall · EA older $16.99 25 72% 750 $13k (exactly $12,742) Zu Digital
Gloamvault $9.99 36 91% 1.1k $11k (exactly $10,789) Grave Hammer Games
TORSO TENNIS $4.99 63 100% 1.9k $9.4k (exactly $9,431) Michael Mato
Dragon Ruins II: Aftermath $9.99 23 91% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) Graverobber Foundation
Goblins Can Conquer $6.99 27 59% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) starea
Turn Based Boxing: Tactics - Legends Edition $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) The Slanted Room
Dungeon Destroyer $4.99 28 100% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) 作っちゃうおじさん/TUKUCHAU-OJISAN
Rapture Recovery Squad $4.99 13 69% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Reggie Dev

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