Games › Automation › Automation + Shop Keeper
Should I ship a Shop Keeper Automation game?
Automation + Shop Keeper
Of 59 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 116 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 $6.8k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×601 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 116 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $900 (exactly $900) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) |
| Top 25% | $92k (exactly $92,354) |
| Top 5% | $377k (exactly $377,211) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 116 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 100% on the market, supply 540% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation, Shop Keeper; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 7,871 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 1 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Another Brick in The Mall | older | $16.99 | 2,340 83% | 70k | $1.2M (exactly $1,192,698) | The Quadsphere |
| | Better Mart Simulator | $14.99 | 1,238 89% | 37k | $557k (exactly $556,729) | Exanticx Studio | |
| | Chop Chop Inc. | $12.99 | 1,258 90% | 38k | $490k (exactly $490,243) | NullRef Entertainment | |
| | Potion Tycoon | $19.99 | 629 71% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Snowhound Games | |
| | Fuel Harvest Together | $13.99 | 879 69% | 26k | $369k (exactly $368,916) | Say2Sun | |
| | Farm to Table | · EA | $14.99 | 645 91% | 19k | $290k (exactly $290,056) | indieGiant |
| | Returns Outlet Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 921 95% | 28k | $276k (exactly $276,024) | Twisted Twice Games |
| | Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith | $11.99 | 745 76% | 22k | $268k (exactly $267,976) | Compact Core Games | |
| | Tabletop Game Shop Simulator | $12.99 | 480 84% | 14k | $187k (exactly $187,056) | Ludogram, Knight Fever Games | |
| | Factory Outlet Simulator | $10.99 | 537 74% | 16k | $177k (exactly $177,049) | PISHO | |
| | Not Monday Cafe | $8.99 | 539 94% | 16k | $145k (exactly $145,368) | Sunny Syrup Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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