Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Auto Battler?

PvE + Auto Battler

Of 193 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 386 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×309 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 386 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 386 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 193
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $599 → $3.1k → $1.8k → $2.1k → $1.2k → $1.1k (still earning) → $779 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 193
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $8.0k (exactly $7,969)
Top 5% $194k (exactly $194,303)
Developers, 2 yr 193
Released games 370
Announced 386
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 25% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Auto Battler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Combat
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 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 78% positive over 25,837 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 77 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 386 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense 2021 · $9.5M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Tales & Tactics 2024 · $937k Horripilant 2026 · $702k GLADIABOTS - AI Combat Arena 2019 · $380k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense older $24.99 12,607 86% 378k $9.5M (exactly $9,451,468) AutoAttack Games
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Tales & Tactics older $17.99 1,737 80% 52k $937k (exactly $937,459) Table 9 Studio
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
GLADIABOTS - AI Combat Arena older $14.99 846 87% 25k $380k (exactly $380,446) GFX47
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings $24.99 469 74% 14k $352k (exactly $351,609) Palindrome Interactive
The Dungeon Beneath older $14.99 749 88% 22k $337k (exactly $336,825) Puzzle Box Games
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Master Healer Kale with useless party $4.99 1,879 95% 56k $281k (exactly $281,286) Evrac Studio
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Zero Stress King: Idle Defense $4.99 1,679 87% 50k $251k (exactly $251,346) Pauloondra
Legionbound $9.99 671 83% 20k $201k (exactly $201,099) Spicy Garlic Games
Ascend From Nine Mountains · EA $19.99 324 92% 9.7k $194k (exactly $194,303) Nine Ascension Studios

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