Games › Automation › Automation + Driving
Should I ship an Automation Driving game?
Automation + Driving
Of 24 developers who shipped an Automation Driving 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $44k, ×70 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $13k; 1 in 20 cleared $16M, ×25841 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $13k (exactly $12,592) |
|---|---|
| Median | $44k (exactly $43,827) |
| Top 25% | $369k (exactly $368,916) |
| Top 5% | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Automation
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Driving
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling feel is tuned by hand
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation, Driving; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Co-op, Simulation
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 308,310 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $13k. 4 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Schedule I | · EA | $19.99 | 288,939 97% | 8.7M | $173M (exactly $173,276,718) | TVGS |
| | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
| | KartKraft™ | older | $24.99 | 2,987 73% | 90k | $2.2M (exactly $2,239,354) | Motorsport Games |
| | Docked | $29.99 | 1,210 72% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,088,637) | Saber Interactive | |
| | SimplePlanes 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 1,316 92% | 39k | $789k (exactly $789,205) | Jundroo, LLC |
| | Wreckreation | $39.99 | 360 63% | 11k | $432k (exactly $431,892) | Three Fields Entertainment | |
| | Dirty Business | · EA | $14.99 | 906 75% | 27k | $407k (exactly $407,428) | Plan Dirty Games |
| | Fuel Harvest Together | $13.99 | 879 69% | 26k | $369k (exactly $368,916) | Say2Sun | |
| | KitHack Model Club | older | $19.99 | 599 75% | 18k | $359k (exactly $359,220) | Floating Origin Interactive |
| | The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire | · EA | $18.99 | 385 81% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,334) | BEF GAMES |
| | Factory Outlet Simulator | $10.99 | 537 74% | 16k | $177k (exactly $177,049) | PISHO | |
| | Campsite Hustle! - Management Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 251 73% | 7.5k | $113k (exactly $112,875) | Red Shore Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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