Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Shop Keeper

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 10.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 116 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Shop Keeper
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $145k → $23k → $23k (still earning) → $900 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Shop Keeper: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
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.

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
Shop Keeper
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $6.8k, 1 in 4 over $92k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

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.

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
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.