Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Auto Battler Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Auto Battler

Of 145 developers who shipped an Auto Battler Resource Management game 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.. 268 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×7.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×732 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 268 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 268 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 145
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $39k → $3.5k → $5.0k → $4.6k → $13k → $2.4k → $3.2k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 145
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,443)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,331)
Top 5% $348k (exactly $347,652)
Developers, 2 yr 145
Released games 253
Announced 268
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.60

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 10% on the market, supply 90% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Auto Battler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$6.60 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.60.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 24,502 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 268 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense 2021 · $9.5M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Luck be a Landlord 2023 · $3.1M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M Warpips 2022 · $2.2M
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 King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Luck be a Landlord older $9.99 10,213 93% 306k $3.1M (exactly $3,060,836) TrampolineTales
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Warpips older $16.99 4,339 87% 130k $2.2M (exactly $2,211,588) Skirmish Mode Games
Gladiator Guild Manager older $14.99 3,808 80% 114k $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) Entertainment Forge
Teamfight Manager older $9.99 5,663 86% 170k $1.7M (exactly $1,697,201) Team Samoyed
Tales & Tactics older $17.99 1,737 80% 52k $937k (exactly $937,459) Table 9 Studio
Citadelum $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) Abylight Barcelona
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Titanium Court $14.99 1,094 94% 33k $492k (exactly $491,972) AP Thomson
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
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

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