Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Auto Battler RTS?

RTS + Auto Battler

Of 64 developers who shipped an Auto Battler RTS 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.. 113 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×341 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 113 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 113 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $179 → $1.3k → $3.0k → $750 → $12k → $420 (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $538 (exactly $538)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,588)
Top 5% $511k (exactly $510,859)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 142
Announced 113
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.50

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 20% 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.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS, Auto Battler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Tactical
Price point
$9.50 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 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 $9.50.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 36,157 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Bad North: Jotunn Edition 2018 · $5.6M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M Warpips 2022 · $2.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Bad North: Jotunn Edition older $14.99 12,344 93% 370k $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
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
Line War older $24.99 1,076 80% 32k $807k (exactly $806,677) Studio Centurion
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Buggos 2 $19.99 692 83% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Intrepid Marmot
Buggos older $9.99 1,204 88% 36k $361k (exactly $360,839) Intrepid Marmot
There Are No Orcs $8.99 1,188 93% 36k $320k (exactly $320,404) BaseTrade Studio
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games
Kingdom Ascension $11.99 200 82% 6.0k $72k (exactly $71,940) RainRingStudio

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