Do I ship it?

Games › Automation › Automation + Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Automation game?

Automation + Combat

Of 85 developers who shipped a Combat Automation 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.. 177 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $820k, ×1315 the market median. Revenue is up 295% on the market; 177 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 295% on the market, 177 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $600 → $3.3k → $897 → $899 → $14k → $4.8k (still earning) → $3.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $807 (exactly $807)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,506)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $25,583)
Top 5% $826k (exactly $825,714)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 167
Announced 177
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 up 295% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Automation, Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Resource Management, Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 37,394 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $820k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 177 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistStrong odds27 devs · median $4.5k · 32 announced
  3. + Open World Survival CraftFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  4. + HorrorFair19 devs · median $8.0k · 29 announced
  5. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  6. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  7. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  8. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  10. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  11. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  12. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Soulmask 2026 · $17M Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M SpaceCraft 2026 · EA · $2.4M The Last Starship 2026 · $973k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
SpaceCraft · EA $29.99 2,616 64% 78k $2.4M (exactly $2,353,615) Shiro Games
The Last Starship $19.99 1,623 75% 49k $973k (exactly $973,313) Introversion Software
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Territory: Farming and Warfare $14.99 738 84% 22k $332k (exactly $331,879) Wit Studio
No Creeps Were Harmed TD older $19.99 468 88% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) MinMax Games Ltd.
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire · EA $18.99 385 81% 12k $219k (exactly $219,334) BEF GAMES

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