Do I ship it?

GamesAuto BattlerAuto Battler + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Auto Battler Shoot 'Em Up?

Auto Battler + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 15 developers shipped an Auto Battler Shoot 'Em Up in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Fight To The Death, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $10k, ×21 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.9k → $4.2k → $3.6k → $449 → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,229)
Top 5% $10k (exactly $10,136)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 39
Announced 16
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 80% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Auto Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Auto Battler, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Action
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.60 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.60 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 246 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $600, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Auto Battler with a different second tag, 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
Nomad Survival older $4.99 1,517 87% 46k $227k (exactly $227,095) The Fox Knocks
Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD older $9.99 209 70% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,637) Mini Fun Games
GunSuit Guardians · EA older $2.99 228 87% 6.8k $20k (exactly $20,452) Matt Glanville
1 Million Zombies older $9.99 60 90% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) Chubby Kiwi Games
Planet TD older $2.99 124 73% 3.7k $11k (exactly $11,123) MD Games
Fight To The Death $2.99 113 76% 3.4k $10k (exactly $10,136) Amrita
Burst Hero older $2.99 77 87% 2.3k $6.9k (exactly $6,907) YaYa Game
Miracle Brave $6.60 33 78% 990 $6.5k (exactly $6,534) 1029studio
Bad Egg · EA older $3.99 35 85% 1.1k $4.2k (exactly $4,190) Blue Wizard Digital
GRING×GRIND $4.99 24 66% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Lola Fisher
Maku $2.99 36 75% 1.1k $3.2k (exactly $3,229) whelp
AutoBlobber $3.99 10 90% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) Pancake Lab
​Shattered Lands (破碎之地) $6.99 4 25% 120 $839 (exactly $839) VoidStudio
SOVA NA SKAKALKE $2.99 7 71% 210 $628 (exactly $628) Quiet River
Monster Rush Survivors $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Cube Games
Pattern Survivors: Bullet Hell — Create Chaos $2.99 5 80% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Airem
Meyow $0.99 10 100% 300 $297 (exactly $297) cnsgames

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