Do I ship it?

Games › Automation › Automation + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Automation game?

Automation + Fantasy

Of 140 developers who shipped a Fantasy 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.. 252 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $830; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×589 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 252 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 252 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 140
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $537 → $7.8k → $12k → $3.4k → $1.9k → $13k → $3.2k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 140
Bottom 30% $824 (exactly $824)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,235)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,361)
Top 5% $370k (exactly $370,028)
Developers, 2 yr 140
Released games 256
Announced 252
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 45% on the market, supply 220% 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
Fantasy
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Resource Management, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 22,789 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $830, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $830. 7 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 252 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different setting or mood, 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

Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure 2025 · $1.7M Hammerting 2021 · $1.3M Fortune Mill 2026 · $890k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure $29.99 1,867 82% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) Massive Miniteam
Hammerting older $24.99 1,733 57% 52k $1.3M (exactly $1,299,230) Warpzone Studios
Fortune Mill $7.99 3,712 81% 111k $890k (exactly $889,766) Lavaflame2
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Odd Realm older $19.99 954 84% 29k $572k (exactly $572,114) Unknown Origin Games Inc
Crusaders Quest : Hero Town $6.99 2,564 76% 77k $538k (exactly $537,671) CQ LABS
Kubifaktorium older $19.99 728 79% 22k $437k (exactly $436,582) Neomateria Games GmbH
Potion Tycoon $19.99 629 71% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Snowhound Games
Loot of Baal $8.99 1,372 62% 41k $370k (exactly $370,028) Gleamer Studio
Legends of Dragaea: Idle Dungeons $9.99 976 86% 29k $293k (exactly $292,507) Blast Programming
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
IDLE BOSS RUSH $9.99 820 66% 25k $246k (exactly $245,754) Irid Games

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