Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Automation game?

Automation + Horror

Only 19 developers shipped a Horror Automation game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Tingus Goose, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.0k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.9k. Revenue is up 190% on the market; 29 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 190% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $3.6k → $4.1k → $122k → $2.4k (still earning) → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,812)
Median $8.0k (exactly $7,969)
Top 25% $84k (exactly $83,895)
Top 5% $257k (exactly $256,673)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 39
Announced 29
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 190% on the market, supply 275% 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
Horror
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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Incremental
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,923 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.9k, median $8.0k, 1 in 4 over $83k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.9k. 29 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  6. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  7. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  9. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  10. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced
  12. + DeckbuildingFair44 devs · median $2.8k · 51 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
Regular Human Workshop older $9.99 1,201 89% 36k $360k (exactly $359,940) Dead Joker
Sixty Four older $5.99 1,604 73% 48k $288k (exactly $288,239) Oleg Danilov
Tingus Goose $6.99 1,224 89% 37k $257k (exactly $256,673) SweatyChair
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency older $14.99 460 81% 14k $207k (exactly $206,862) Neat Corporation, Fast Travel Games
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
[ECHOSTASIS] older $19.99 215 90% 6.5k $129k (exactly $128,935) ENIGMA STUDIO
Tunnet older $5.99 699 94% 21k $126k (exactly $125,610) puzzled_squid
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
Alice's Gaze $3.99 770 91% 23k $92k (exactly $92,169) Starmoon Cat
Alan's Automaton Workshop older $14.99 196 82% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Laputa Labs
Miseria $7.99 350 58% 11k $84k (exactly $83,895) Somnambulist Games
LORED · EA $9.99 231 80% 6.9k $69k (exactly $69,231) Dillon Simpson
Beyond the Doors · EA $8.99 75 72% 2.3k $20k (exactly $20,228) Dream Error
Greedy Greedy Gnomes $5.99 104 74% 3.1k $19k (exactly $18,689) Nautlander
Dwarf Delve $12.99 33 33% 990 $13k (exactly $12,860) Gloom Box
DOLL INC · EA $6.99 38 65% 1.1k $8.0k (exactly $7,969) David Gallardo

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