Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Real Time Tactics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Automation Real Time Tactics?

Automation + Real Time Tactics

Of 46 developers who shipped an Automation Real Time Tactics 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.. 79 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 $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $350; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 79 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 79 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Real Time Tactics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.6k → $30 → $1.2k → $1.3k → $1.7k → $539 (still earning) → $341 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Real Time Tactics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $341 (exactly $341)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,077)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,759)
Top 5% $157k (exactly $156,999)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 95
Announced 79
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Real Time Tactics
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Real Time Tactics; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Minimalist
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 11,452 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $350, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $350. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Rail Route older $24.99 2,400 88% 72k $1.8M (exactly $1,799,280) Bitrich.info
Taur older $24.99 2,011 79% 60k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,647) Echo Entertainment
Cavalry Girls older $11.99 1,877 88% 56k $675k (exactly $675,157) 中子星游戏研究所
Territory: Farming and Warfare $14.99 738 84% 22k $332k (exactly $331,879) Wit Studio
No Creeps Were Harmed TD older $19.99 468 88% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) MinMax Games Ltd.
Final Upgrade older $19.99 437 75% 13k $262k (exactly $262,069) TaosX
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games
Dice People $2.99 719 90% 22k $64k (exactly $64,494) Mateusk2m, Manodeix
Screeps: Arena $19.99 105 82% 3.2k $63k (exactly $62,968) Screeps, LLC
Oasis Mission: Colony Sim $14.99 91 56% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) Lunar pug studio
Flow Of War $12.99 40 85% 1.2k $16k (exactly $15,588) Rongcon Games
Echoes of the Architects $9.99 46 80% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) GFX47
Conradito Cafézito $4.99 92 86% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Conrado Saud

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