Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Automation game?

Automation + Strategy RPG

Of 39 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 58 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.2k → $1.7k → $7.5k → $3.6k (still earning) → $148 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,740)
Top 5% $348k (exactly $347,652)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 62
Announced 58
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 35% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Strategy RPG
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, Strategy RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Idler, Loot
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,870 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $990, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
Little Rocket Lab $19.99 1,286 90% 39k $771k (exactly $771,214) Teenage Astronauts
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Rogue Voltage $15.99 593 92% 18k $284k (exactly $284,462) Horizont Computergrafik
Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith $11.99 745 76% 22k $268k (exactly $267,976) Compact Core Games
miniBONG older $9.99 881 79% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) Game Star
Crypto Mining Simulator older $4.99 1,419 65% 43k $212k (exactly $212,424) Satosha Nakamoti
Increlution · EA older $3.99 1,237 85% 37k $148k (exactly $148,069) Gniller
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
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
XiuzhenWorld2 $12.99 134 67% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Noforgetit
挂机破坏神 IdleWrecker $5.99 107 57% 3.2k $19k (exactly $19,228) 棱镜工作室
Lugal: Bronze Age Survival Game · EA $14.99 35 71% 1.1k $16k (exactly $15,740) Tea & Cake Games

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