Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Management game?

Management + Robots

Of 40 developers who shipped a Robot Management 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.. 97 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×757 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 97 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 97 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.3k → $1.3k → $3.8k → $150 → $1.4k → $2.7k (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $8.8k (exactly $8,814)
Top 5% $476k (exactly $475,514)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 103
Announced 97
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 up 50% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Crafting
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,213 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $470k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BATTLETECH 2018 · $28M Phantom Brigade 2023 · $4.0M Per Aspera 2020 · $3.7M Automation Empire 2019 · $2.3M Autonauts 2019 · $2.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BATTLETECH older $39.99 23,024 84% 691k $28M (exactly $27,621,893) Harebrained Schemes
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
Per Aspera older $29.99 4,105 76% 123k $3.7M (exactly $3,693,268) Tlön Industries
Automation Empire older $29.99 2,584 65% 78k $2.3M (exactly $2,324,825) DOG HOGGLER
Autonauts older $19.99 3,596 90% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,156,521) Denki
Good Company older $24.99 1,480 73% 44k $1.1M (exactly $1,109,556) Chasing Carrots
The Colonists older $24.99 1,052 85% 32k $789k (exactly $788,684) Codebyfire
FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake older $34.99 745 77% 22k $782k (exactly $782,026) Forever Entertainment S. A.
Main Assembly older $19.99 1,004 83% 30k $602k (exactly $602,099) Bad Yolk Games
Microtopia $19.99 881 87% 26k $528k (exactly $528,336) Cordyceps Collective
FRONT MISSION 3: Remake $34.99 453 74% 14k $476k (exactly $475,514) MegaPixel Studio S.A.
Mineral Defense $14.99 220 90% 6.6k $99k (exactly $98,934) Corestone Games
Sky End Market · EA $18.99 164 96% 4.9k $93k (exactly $93,431) Andymente
Chipmatic $11.99 158 65% 4.7k $57k (exactly $56,833) Molter
Endless Dark $7.99 115 99% 3.5k $28k (exactly $27,566) Little Light Studios, LLC
Robert on Earth $7.99 93 83% 2.8k $22k (exactly $22,292) Remrofsnart
The Last Craftsman $9.99 74 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) AuraTummyache
Stellar Reach $19.99 34 79% 1.0k $20k (exactly $20,390) Stelleas
Zombie Liminal Fishing $13.99 21 85% 630 $8.8k (exactly $8,814) Chris Danelon

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