Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based › Turn-Based + Auto Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Auto Battler Turn-Based game?

Turn-Based + Auto Battler

Of 34 developers who shipped an Auto Battler Turn-Based 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.. 37 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $32k, ×51 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $11k; 1 in 20 cleared $8.0M, ×12786 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 37 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 51.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 37 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based + Auto Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $22k → $60k → $217k → $89k → $10k (still earning) → $30k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based + Auto Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $10k (exactly $10,072)
Median $32k (exactly $32,013)
Top 25% $232k (exactly $232,020)
Top 5% $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 69
Announced 37
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 90% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Turn-Based
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based, Auto Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 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 $14.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 45,708 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $11k, median $32k, 1 in 4 over $230k, 1 in 20 over $8.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $11k. 2 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Asynchronous MultiplayerStrong odds13 devs · median $60k · 10 announced
  2. + DragonsStrong odds7 devs · median $53k · 7 announced
  3. + Hack and SlashStrong odds8 devs · median $14k · 1 announced
  4. + SandboxFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  5. + HorrorFair16 devs · median $32k · 18 announced
  6. + CraftingFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair7 devs · median $14k · 8 announced
  8. + Perma DeathFair49 devs · median $10k · 57 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  10. + ChessFair12 devs · median $1.2k · 13 announced
  11. + Tower DefensePoor odds9 devs · median $294k · 7 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds16 devs · median $193k · 26 announced

All 110 pairs on the Turn-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Hero's Hour 2022 · $2.5M Dominions 5 - Warriors of the Faith 2017 · $2.3M Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Hero's Hour older $17.99 4,643 79% 139k $2.5M (exactly $2,505,827) Benjamin "ThingOnItsOwn" Hauer
Dominions 5 - Warriors of the Faith older $39.99 1,924 94% 58k $2.3M (exactly $2,308,223) Illwinter Game Design
Dragon Cliff older $9.99 7,679 88% 230k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) Meta Interaction
Despot's Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator older $19.99 2,878 83% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,725,937) Konfa Games
Gladiator Guild Manager older $14.99 3,808 80% 114k $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) Entertainment Forge
The Last Flame $19.99 2,744 85% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,645,577) Hotloop
Godhood older $26.99 970 70% 29k $785k (exactly $785,409) Abbey Games
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Overlooting $9.99 1,405 81% 42k $421k (exactly $421,078) Posing Possums
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
Rogue Voltage $15.99 593 92% 18k $284k (exactly $284,462) Horizont Computergrafik
Never Second in Rome $12.99 637 81% 19k $248k (exactly $248,239) Alessandro Roberti
Insider Trading $12.89 600 79% 18k $232k (exactly $232,020) Naiive
Villages & Dungeons $6.99 1,036 91% 31k $217k (exactly $217,249) CaCaFrog Studio

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