Games › Automation › Automation + Desktop Companion
Should I ship a Desktop Companion Automation game?
Automation + Desktop Companion
Of 51 developers who shipped a Desktop Companion 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.. 75 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.8k, ×4.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×419 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 75 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.8k (exactly $2,753) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $20,970) |
| Top 5% | $263k (exactly $262,951) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 51 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 90% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Desktop Companion
- effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation, Desktop Companion; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
- Art
- 9 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 12,456 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistStrong odds
- + Open World Survival CraftFair
- + HorrorFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + Class-BasedFair
- + MiningFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + FishingFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
Comparable games
Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M 
Crusaders Quest : Hero Town 2026 · $538k 
Maltese's Fluffy Onsen 2025 · $490k 
Your Big, Cute Monster Farm 2025 · $263k 
Cornerpond 2025 · $230k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
| | Crusaders Quest : Hero Town | $6.99 | 2,564 76% | 77k | $538k (exactly $537,671) | CQ LABS | |
| | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
| | Your Big, Cute Monster Farm | $7.99 | 1,097 78% | 33k | $263k (exactly $262,951) | KaiPlay Studio | |
| | Cornerpond | $2.99 | 2,567 97% | 77k | $230k (exactly $230,260) | foolsroom | |
 | How to Train Your Cock | $3.99 | 1,875 95% | 56k | $224k (exactly $224,438) | Little Horror Studios | |
 | Plantera 2: Golden Acorn | older | $4.99 | 1,191 93% | 36k | $178k (exactly $178,293) | VaragtP |
 | Whimside | $5.85 | 394 92% | 12k | $69k (exactly $69,147) | Toadzillart | |
 | Bao Bao's™ Cozy Laundromat | $3.99 | 410 83% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,077) | Destroyer Doggo | |
 | Village Tale | $5.99 | 268 81% | 8.0k | $48k (exactly $48,160) | Knight Owl Games | |
 | Fluffy Kitchen Saga | $6.99 | 221 64% | 6.6k | $46k (exactly $46,344) | MEOW STORE GAME | |
 | Desktop Fishing | $3.49 | 333 91% | 10k | $35k (exactly $34,865) | Ostend Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.