Do I ship it?

Games › Runner › Runner + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Runner?

Runner + Robots

Only 15 developers shipped a Robot Runner 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, TIRELESS: Prepare For The Adrenaline, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 8 developers shipped in the last year and 21 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 21 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Runner + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $120 → $179 → $270 → $299 → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Runner + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $479 (exactly $479)
Top 5% $4.8k (exactly $4,790)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 60
Announced 21
Effort 5 / 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: revenue up 80% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Runner; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

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

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 56 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $270, 1 in 4 over $470, 1 in 20 over $4.7k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LootFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 10 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  3. + PsychologicalFair14 devs · median $839 · 12 announced
  4. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $838 · 8 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair12 devs · median $750 · 11 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair15 devs · median $599 · 10 announced
  7. + FPSLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  8. + 4 Player LocalPoor odds12 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  9. + MusicPoor odds16 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds38 devs · median $1.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $898 · 64 announced
  12. + Interactive FictionPoor odds10 devs · median $839 · 16 announced

All 123 pairs on the Runner page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Boson X 2014 · $199k GIGANTIC ARMY 2014 · $37k Skybolt Zack 2019 · $24k Hover Attack 2021 · $7.6k MineRalph 2019 · $5.1k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Boson X older $4.99 1,327 93% 40k $199k (exactly $198,652) Ian MacLarty, Jon Kerney
GIGANTIC ARMY older $5.99 208 77% 6.2k $37k (exactly $37,378) ASTRO PORT
Skybolt Zack older $13.99 57 89% 1.7k $24k (exactly $23,923) ISART, DEVS MUST DIE
Hover Attack older $17.99 14 92% 420 $7.6k (exactly $7,556) Mindware Co.,Ltd.
MineRalph older $9.99 17 100% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Chop Chop Games
TIRELESS: Prepare For The Adrenaline $4.99 32 84% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) naro
Vacuum cleaner robot simulator: pile sos edition older $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Gamesforgames
DeadBlitZ older $24.99 5 80% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) Mewzur
Katana Robo: RTA older $7.99 15 66% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Twins Halo
GasZilla older $4.99 23 91% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) SUJIKO Media Group
Vertigo Rush · EA $14.99 5 100% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Sumalab
独特的友谊 - Special Friendship $2.99 6 66% 180 $538 (exactly $538) U0U0X幽灵
Hardcore Soldier $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) James H. Van der Meulen
Unsung Escape $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) ENEME INC.
Jumping Robo $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) DanDanGames
BlackHoleMaze $8.99 1 0% 30 $270 (exactly $270) PENGHAO
Oily Tower $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Cyvana
Circuit Runner $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) No Sleep Till Monday
Mark of slavery $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Emgidev

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