Do I ship it?

GamesAuto BattlerAuto Battler + Post-apocalyptic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Auto Battler?

Auto Battler + Post-apocalyptic

Only 17 developers shipped a Post-apocalyptic Auto Battler 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, City Defense Z, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 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 $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $89k, ×143 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 43 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Post-apocalyptic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $898 → $1.2k → $1.1k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Post-apocalyptic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $779 (exactly $779)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $90k (exactly $89,910)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 35
Announced 43
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 60% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Post-apocalyptic
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Management, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 553 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $780, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $89k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 11 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
City Defense Z $9.99 300 74% 9.0k $90k (exactly $89,910) Good Mood Games
Exark $14.99 99 73% 3.0k $45k (exactly $44,520) Robot Cat Limited
Corrupted: Dawn of Havoc · EA older $14.99 75 65% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) 36Litters
Deadlock Station $9.99 55 80% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Luxorix Games
Idle Regenerator $9.99 46 58% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) Gestalt Gaming LLC
Legacy of Sin: The Father Sacrifice older $7.99 55 65% 1.7k $13k (exactly $13,184) Absolute Power Game Studio
King of Tokyo - Richard Garfield $19.99 16 68% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Breakfirst
Legacy of Sin: Blood Oath older $7.99 26 76% 780 $6.2k (exactly $6,232) Absolute Power Game Studio
DarkSpar older $4.99 20 50% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Brian Conley
Hentai Killer: Girls & Chess older $0.99 83 67% 2.5k $2.5k (exactly $2,465) PlatSTUDIO
Rapture Recovery Squad $4.99 13 69% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Reggie Dev
Circuit Stance $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Fluffy Brown
The 1500 Year Old Forest Elf and My Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Nowaki
Anarchy Road $5.99 6 50% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) Bunker Brothers LLC
Gnaw & Order $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Sleeper Build Studio

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