Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + God Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a God Game Automation game?

Automation + God Game

Of 38 developers who shipped a God Game 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $770k, ×1235 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 61 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + God Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $35k → $28k → $9.9k → $150 → $23k → $898 (still earning) → $2.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + God Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,002)
Top 5% $776k (exactly $775,549)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 71
Announced 61
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 down 65% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
God Game
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, God Game; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 5,535 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $770k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
Sintopia $34.99 951 80% 29k $998k (exactly $998,265) Piraknights Games
Driftland: The Magic Revival older $19.99 1,439 73% 43k $863k (exactly $862,968) Star Drifters
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
GolfTopia older $19.99 477 95% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) MinMax Games Ltd.
[ECHOSTASIS] older $19.99 215 90% 6.5k $129k (exactly $128,935) ENIGMA STUDIO
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
STARIO: Haven Tower · EA $13.99 280 93% 8.4k $118k (exactly $117,516) Stargate Games
Loafing Town $6.99 531 85% 16k $111k (exactly $111,351) GoblinZz
MMO98 $6.99 511 69% 15k $107k (exactly $107,157) BiteMe Games
The Eastern Sacrifice $9.99 356 55% 11k $107k (exactly $106,693) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
Genesis of a Small God $17.99 61 80% 1.8k $33k (exactly $32,922) Pierre Nury
Desktop Fishes $5.99 128 82% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Daniel Santalla

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