Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Auto Battler?

PvP + Auto Battler

Of 92 developers who shipped a paid PvP 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 216 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×293 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 216 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 216 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 92
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $30k → $3.3k → $17k → $1.2k → $13k → $5.0k (still earning) → $779 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 92
Bottom 30% $779 (exactly $779)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 25% $56k (exactly $55,744)
Top 5% $438k (exactly $438,458)
Developers, 2 yr 92
Released games 247
Announced 216
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 42%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
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
PvP, Auto Battler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Asynchronous Multiplayer, Deckbuilding
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 59,636 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 $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $55k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 6 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 216 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense 2021 · $9.5M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Hero's Hour 2022 · $2.5M
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
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Hero's Hour older $17.99 4,643 79% 139k $2.5M (exactly $2,505,827) Benjamin "ThingOnItsOwn" Hauer
Dominions 6 - Rise of the Pantokrator older $44.99 1,686 90% 51k $2.3M (exactly $2,275,594) Illwinter Game Design
Oaken Tower · EA $9.99 3,024 89% 91k $906k (exactly $906,293) Bocary Studios
Line War older $24.99 1,076 80% 32k $807k (exactly $806,677) Studio Centurion
METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED older $9.99 1,639 69% 49k $491k (exactly $491,208) SNK CORPORATION
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Q-UP $9.99 1,126 93% 34k $337k (exactly $337,462) Everybody House Games
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Flash Doll $8.99 859 80% 26k $232k (exactly $231,672) Game Star
Toy Smash Kaboom! $13.99 550 84% 17k $231k (exactly $230,835) Free Particle

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