Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Auto Battler Open World game?

Open World + Auto Battler

Only 15 developers shipped an Auto Battler Open World game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Yaoling: Mythical Journey, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.7k, ×2.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×1143 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 23 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 23 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $25k → $718 (still earning) → $18k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $3.7k (exactly $3,730)
Top 25% $56k (exactly $55,744)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,711,544)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 25
Announced 23
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 flat on the market, supply 50% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low 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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Combat
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $25.00 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $25.00 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,046 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $3.7k, 1 in 4 over $55k, 1 in 20 over $1.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer $4.99 1,528 78% 46k $229k (exactly $228,742) AZAMATIKA
Botworld Odyssey $25.00 279 76% 8.4k $209k (exactly $209,250) Featherweight Games
Stash: A Card Looter $9.99 186 79% 5.6k $56k (exactly $55,744) WheeGaming
Tears of Adria older $13.99 75 86% 2.3k $31k (exactly $31,478) Ark Island Studio
NebuLeet $15.99 53 90% 1.6k $25k (exactly $25,424) quasilyte
Dethroned · EA older $19.99 31 61% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) Irid Games
Bounty Trail $6.99 84 52% 2.5k $18k (exactly $17,615) September Games
Soul•Apocalypto $11.99 20 80% 600 $7.2k (exactly $7,194) 卜乙冈(Ploygon)
DmonMaster $8.88 14 78% 420 $3.7k (exactly $3,730) Harusame
GRING×GRIND $4.99 24 66% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Lola Fisher
Idle RPG $6.99 4 25% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Repeat Games

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