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Should I ship an Auto Battler Top-Down Shooter?
Auto Battler + Top-Down Shooter
Of 20 developers who shipped an Auto Battler Top-Down Shooter 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.. 29 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×44 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 29 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,641) |
| Top 5% | $21k (exactly $21,101) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 38 |
| Announced | 29 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Top-Down Shooter
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Auto Battler, Top-Down Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Roguelite
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 356 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Auto Battler with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ProgrammingFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Action RTSFair
- + SimulationFair
- + EconomyFair
- + SandboxFair
- + CyberpunkFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + CatsFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD 2024 · $63k 
最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect 2022 · $60k 
Kill A Million Rats 2025 · $21k 
INSANIO 2026 · $14k 
Fight To The Death 2024 · $10k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD | older | $9.99 | 209 70% | 6.3k | $63k (exactly $62,637) | Mini Fun Games |
| | 最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect | older | $3.99 | 504 53% | 15k | $60k (exactly $60,329) | 栖鸾工作室 |
| | Kill A Million Rats | $10.99 | 64 89% | 1.9k | $21k (exactly $21,101) | Nerdook Productions | |
| | INSANIO | $9.99 | 48 66% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,386) | somebody | |
| | 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 |
 | Cloud Keeper: Shrine of Dal | · EA | $6.99 | 28 100% | 840 | $5.9k (exactly $5,872) | Jetpackgone |
 | Catlike Magic | older | $4.99 | 37 97% | 1.1k | $5.5k (exactly $5,539) | Blue9Fairy |
 | Dungeon and Craft | older | $6.99 | 25 92% | 750 | $5.2k (exactly $5,242) | Musa GUNGOR |
 | BRUTUS MAXIMUS | $4.99 | 31 64% | 930 | $4.6k (exactly $4,641) | SuperStructureGames | |
 | BBS (Bulletin Board System) Magica | $9.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | ねむねむおかき | |
 | Maku | $2.99 | 36 75% | 1.1k | $3.2k (exactly $3,229) | whelp | |
 | Scrap Age: Survivors | $4.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) | Fractal Blue Entertainment | |
 | Battle Bits | $4.99 | 5 40% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | NecoPlanet | |
 | Intergalactic Cleaning Squad | $4.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Rigid Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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