Do I ship it?

Games › Settings › Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI game?

Artificial Intelligence

Of 978 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 1,363 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×788 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 1,363 games are announced against 678 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 1,363 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 978
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $748 → $779 → $959 → $899 → $1.7k → $1.1k (still earning) → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 978
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,622)
Top 5% $374k (exactly $374,150)
Developers, 2 yr 978
Released games 2,922
Announced 1,363
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 225% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 714,748 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 512 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,363 games are announced against 678 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Artificial Intelligence

140 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Level Editor + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $5.7k 20 devs
  2. Political Sim + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $5.7k 15 devs
  3. Choices Matter + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $4.5k 159 devs
  4. Character Customization + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $4.1k 71 devs
  5. Typing + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $4.1k 27 devs
  6. Choose Your Own Adventure + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $3.3k 105 devs
  7. Precision Platformer + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $3.3k 11 devs
  8. Tower Defense + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $3.1k 17 devs
  9. Multiple Endings + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.7k 127 devs
  10. Driving + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.7k 20 devs
  11. Procedural Generation + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.5k 56 devs
  12. Deckbuilding + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.5k 24 devs
  13. Physics + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.4k 70 devs
  14. RPG + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $2.1k 219 devs
  15. Wargame + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.8k 30 devs
  16. Dynamic Narration + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.8k 28 devs
  17. Beat 'em up + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.8k 9 devs
  18. Programming + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.7k 24 devs
  19. Automation + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.7k 54 devs
  20. Walking Simulator + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.7k 36 devs
  21. Adventure + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.6k 325 devs
  22. Investigation + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.5k 43 devs
  23. Racing + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.4k 25 devs
  24. Combat + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.3k 109 devs
  25. Word Game + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.3k 38 devs
  26. Roguelite + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.3k 64 devs
  27. FPS + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.3k 58 devs
  28. Turn-Based Strategy + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $1.2k 55 devs
  29. Exploration + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $899 159 devs
  30. Tactical + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $899 84 devs
  31. Real Time Tactics + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $899 35 devs
  32. RTS + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $899 32 devs
  33. Time Manipulation + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $899 10 devs
  34. Bullet Hell + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $898 34 devs
  35. Strategy + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $897 256 devs
  36. Turn-Based Tactics + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $897 59 devs
  37. Action-Adventure + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $839 112 devs
  38. Shooter + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $839 77 devs
  39. Hack and Slash + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $832 21 devs
  40. PvE + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $748 106 devs
  41. Interactive Fiction + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $719 114 devs
  42. Card Battler + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $719 20 devs
  43. Class-Based + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $719 7 devs
  44. Action + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $718 276 devs
  45. Action Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $718 45 devs
  46. Creature Collector + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $718 17 devs
  47. CRPG + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $629 20 devs
  48. PvP + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $628 71 devs
  49. Board Game + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $628 39 devs
  50. Strategy RPG + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $600 27 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Battlefield™ 6 2025 · $620M Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 2025 · $272M Crimson Desert Enhanced 2026 · $242M Dragon's Dogma 2 2024 · $92M Assetto Corsa 2014 · $82M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Battlefield™ 6 $69.99 295,442 63% 8.9M $620M (exactly $620,339,567) Battlefield Studios
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 $49.99 181,667 95% 5.5M $272M (exactly $272,446,000) Sandfall Interactive
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
Dragon's Dogma 2 older $39.99 76,627 62% 2.3M $92M (exactly $91,929,412) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Assetto Corsa older $19.99 136,067 92% 4.1M $82M (exactly $81,599,380) Kunos Simulazioni
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach older $39.99 65,350 86% 2.0M $78M (exactly $78,400,395) Steel Wool Studios
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
The Talos Principle older $29.99 29,237 95% 877k $26M (exactly $26,304,529) Croteam
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road $69.99 11,180 88% 335k $23M (exactly $23,474,646) LEVEL5 Inc.
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Jurassic World Evolution 3 $59.99 11,387 93% 342k $20M (exactly $20,493,184) Frontier Developments
Assetto Corsa EVO · EA $39.99 16,545 60% 496k $20M (exactly $19,849,036) KUNOS Simulazioni
Halo: Campaign Evolved $49.99 12,512 61% 375k $19M (exactly $18,764,246) Halo Studios

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