Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Driving

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 69.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Driving
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $1.8k → $16M → $219k → $35k (still earning) → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Driving: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
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.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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

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, 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $13k, median $44k, 1 in 4 over $360k, 1 in 20 over $16M.

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.

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

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.