Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Automation game?

Automation + Zombies

Only 9 developers shipped a Zombie Automation game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Yet Another Incremental Game (but this time about coding), made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $150, ×0.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3k, ×15 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 15 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 15 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Automation + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,376)
Top 5% $9.3k (exactly $9,348)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 25
Announced 15
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: too few recent games to read.

Free games: 12%, 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
Zombies
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
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 541 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $150, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $9.3k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 15 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different setting or mood, 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
BARRICADEZ older $18.99 117 78% 3.5k $67k (exactly $66,655) Fly Penguin inc.
Dead Unending older $9.99 108 41% 3.2k $32k (exactly $32,368) Tyler Hudson
The Necromancer Cometh! TD · EA older $14.99 30 93% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) Dang Rascals Studio
INCUR Survival · EA older $3.99 98 81% 2.9k $12k (exactly $11,731) INCUR
Yet Another Incremental Game (but this time about coding) · EA $7.99 39 71% 1.2k $9.3k (exactly $9,348) Raclette Games
Morbid Inhale older $9.99 27 81% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Vokeev
Zombie Crush Driver older $2.99 28 71% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) ILXAM, Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Apocalypse Factory · EA $9.99 8 50% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Mind Leak
Priceless Return $0.99 80 81% 2.4k $2.4k (exactly $2,376) Home
Can't Stop Rory $7.99 6 50% 180 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Confused Grandma Games, Zero Point One… (Confused Grandma Games, Zero Point One Games)
Survival Supplies Factory · EA $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) GESpacecraft
Please Don't Shoot the Humans $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) BitQuest Studio
Huntervania $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Dubcherry
Forging Master $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Poppy King
Steam & Clicks $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Victorian Studio

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