Do I ship it?

GamesAuto BattlerAuto Battler + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Auto Battler?

Auto Battler + Sci-fi

Of 75 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 123 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×657 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 123 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 123 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 75
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $599 → $3.1k → $210 → $2.7k → $1.0k → $719 (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 75
Bottom 30% $298 (exactly $298)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $312k (exactly $312,196)
Developers, 2 yr 75
Released games 151
Announced 123
Effort 4 / 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 down 20% on the market, supply 70% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Auto Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Auto Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.49 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 $17.49 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 24,089 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $780, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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
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
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
GLADIABOTS - AI Combat Arena older $14.99 846 87% 25k $380k (exactly $380,446) GFX47
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Buggos older $9.99 1,204 88% 36k $361k (exactly $360,839) Intrepid Marmot
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Gratuitous Space Battles older $14.99 568 72% 17k $255k (exactly $255,430) Positech Games
Villages & Dungeons $6.99 1,036 91% 31k $217k (exactly $217,249) CaCaFrog Studio
Nonentity Galaxy $9.99 587 94% 18k $176k (exactly $175,924) Brick-Up Studio
Feed the Reactor $6.99 658 82% 20k $138k (exactly $137,983) Adam Travers
Holder of Place $9.99 288 90% 8.6k $86k (exactly $86,314) Ardent Fields
Mech Fortress $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) Some Sugar Studio
Evolve Lab · EA $14.99 69 94% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) SiRen Games

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