Games › Automation › Automation + Interactive Fiction
Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Automation game?
Automation + Interactive Fiction
Only 9 developers shipped an Interactive Fiction 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, Destination Gemini, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $3.5k, ×5.6 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 14 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,025) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,544) |
| Top 5% | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 25 |
| Announced | 14 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation, Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $3.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 514 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
PRODUCER 2021 2022 · $49k 
The Neverland of the Mountain and Sea 2022 · $46k 
Destination Gemini 2026 · $3.5k 
Necromancer Idle: The Endless Drain 2026 · $3.2k 
Hardwork Simulator 2021 · $2.1k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PRODUCER 2021 | older | $9.99 | 164 100% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $49,151) | Stuffed Wombat, ThorHighHeels |
| | The Neverland of the Mountain and Sea | older | $9.99 | 154 95% | 4.6k | $46k (exactly $46,154) | Magenta Factory |
| | Destination Gemini | $8.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) | Hubert Cachat | |
| | Necromancer Idle: The Endless Drain | $3.99 | 27 70% | 810 | $3.2k (exactly $3,232) | JBlivion | |
| | Hardwork Simulator | older | $1.99 | 36 94% | 1.1k | $2.1k (exactly $2,149) | Mandinga |
 | united city | older | $1.99 | 28 100% | 840 | $1.7k (exactly $1,672) | lijirui |
 | MEMOLOGY: War of Memes | $0.99 | 52 76% | 1.6k | $1.5k (exactly $1,544) | Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm, hannibaln… (Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm, hannibalnotdead) | |
 | DJ Clicker - World Tour | older | $4.99 | 9 77% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | Rockshurt Games |
 | Androsystem Idle | older | $1.99 | 21 52% | 630 | $1.3k (exactly $1,254) | RedKar Devs |
 | Simulation | $3.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) | eCho Software | |
 | Checkpoint Inc | $4.27 | 8 75% | 240 | $1.0k (exactly $1,025) | Punchers | |
 | Capitalist Misadventures | $7.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $959 (exactly $959) | Caramelo Studios | |
 | Dormant | $2.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $90 (exactly $90) | Moon Root | |
 | Neo-Exodus: Last Bastion | $2.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $90 (exactly $90) | GODev Games | |
 | GPU Inferno | $0.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $89 (exactly $89) | Moriba |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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