Do I ship it?

GamesAuto BattlerAuto Battler + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Auto Battler?

Auto Battler + Zombies

Only 12 developers shipped a Zombie Auto Battler 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, City Defense Z, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $89k, ×143 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 33 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 33 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Auto Battler + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $9.2k → $1.4k → $479 (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Auto Battler + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,435)
Top 5% $90k (exactly $89,910)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 30
Announced 33
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 65% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Auto Battler
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 372 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $89k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 33 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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
Be My Horde · EA older $9.99 2,052 85% 62k $615k (exactly $614,984) Polished Games
Necroking older $4.99 857 81% 26k $128k (exactly $128,293) KORO.GAMES
Candy Disaster - Tower Defense older $13.99 250 81% 7.5k $105k (exactly $104,925) ACE Entertainment
City Defense Z $9.99 300 74% 9.0k $90k (exactly $89,910) Good Mood Games
Deliverance & Reign older $7.99 106 80% 3.2k $25k (exactly $25,408) One Up Plus
Spellshot older $9.99 76 69% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) Team Monumental
1 Million Zombies older $9.99 60 90% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) Chubby Kiwi Games
Praise Dead older $4.99 118 70% 3.5k $18k (exactly $17,665) Intrepid Marmot
The Dark Horde · EA older $6.99 44 95% 1.3k $9.2k (exactly $9,227) Matt Storm
元卡牌2 - MetaCard2 older $6.99 29 96% 870 $6.1k (exactly $6,081) KY Games
Legendary Heroes Survivors $2.99 28 85% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) Last Loop Studios
Village Defenders $2.99 16 31% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) Uberbax-Gaming
BULLET GIRL:ZOMBIE DEFENSE $3.99 8 100% 240 $958 (exactly $958) Sojourner. Game
Pixel Three Kingdoms: Zombie Dungeon $9.99 3 33% 90 $899 (exactly $899) YYTGAME
Last Hope: Zombie Autobattler $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Hands-Off Games
UnfAIr War: Survivors $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) S Ludens DMCC
Exploiters · EA $1.99 7 14% 210 $418 (exactly $418) Comar Studios
Propaganda vs. Zombies $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Loboz
Soldiers vs Zombies: Tower Defense · EA $5.99 1 0% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Hard Shark Games

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