Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Loot

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Automation game?

Automation + Loot

Of 58 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 111 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 $4.8k, ×7.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is up 300% on the market; 111 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 300% on the market, 111 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Loot
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $4.6k → $170k → $52k → $1.9k → $3.4k → $7.4k (still earning) → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Loot: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $897 (exactly $897)
Median $4.8k (exactly $4,790)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $19,272)
Top 5% $348k (exactly $347,652)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 109
Announced 111
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 300% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Loot
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, Loot; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, RPG, Incremental
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 9,511 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $4.8k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 111 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
Fortune Mill $7.99 3,712 81% 111k $890k (exactly $889,766) Lavaflame2
Loot of Baal $8.99 1,372 62% 41k $370k (exactly $370,028) Gleamer Studio
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Legends of Dragaea: Idle Dungeons $9.99 976 86% 29k $293k (exactly $292,507) Blast Programming
miniBONG older $9.99 881 79% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) Game Star
Space industrial empire older $5.99 1,022 85% 31k $184k (exactly $183,653) 游戏养家工作室
Lootun older $5.49 1,040 93% 31k $171k (exactly $171,288) ArrowSoftGames
XiuzhenWorld older $12.99 436 75% 13k $170k (exactly $169,909) Noforgetit
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
Immortal Seeker older $6.99 537 60% 16k $113k (exactly $112,609) Ilogin Studio
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
Rocky Idle $9.99 308 83% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,308) Rocky Games Studio
IDLE_DIRECTIVE $4.99 505 86% 15k $76k (exactly $75,598) Kevinfu510
Legends of Wasteland $6.99 320 62% 9.6k $67k (exactly $67,104) 清友工作室
Thousand Floors $9.99 214 41% 6.4k $64k (exactly $64,136) 琥珀塔

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