Do I ship it?

GamesSettingsArtificial 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. Asynchronous Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence Strong odds $25k 10 devs
  2. Job Simulator + Artificial Intelligence Strong odds $23k 18 devs
  3. Loot + Artificial Intelligence Strong odds $19k 28 devs
  4. Souls-like + Artificial Intelligence Fair $22k 13 devs
  5. Management + Artificial Intelligence Fair $12k 114 devs
  6. Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence Fair $11k 102 devs
  7. Inventory Management + Artificial Intelligence Fair $11k 34 devs
  8. Local Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence Fair $11k 16 devs
  9. Rhythm + Artificial Intelligence Fair $7.8k 8 devs
  10. Life Sim + Artificial Intelligence Fair $7.3k 92 devs
  11. Dating Sim + Artificial Intelligence Fair $4.3k 116 devs
  12. JRPG + Artificial Intelligence Fair $4.0k 25 devs
  13. Simulation + Artificial Intelligence Fair $3.0k 387 devs
  14. Automobile Sim + Artificial Intelligence Fair $3.0k 19 devs
  15. Visual Novel + Artificial Intelligence Fair $2.7k 187 devs
  16. Collectathon + Artificial Intelligence Fair $2.7k 46 devs
  17. Dungeon Crawler + Artificial Intelligence Fair $2.3k 29 devs
  18. Solitaire + Artificial Intelligence Fair $2.3k 8 devs
  19. Local Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.8k 26 devs
  20. Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.8k 60 devs
  21. Idler + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.8k 85 devs
  22. Auto Battler + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.6k 23 devs
  23. Incremental + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.5k 112 devs
  24. Sports + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.0k 59 devs
  25. Time Management + Artificial Intelligence Fair $1.0k 53 devs
  26. Arcade + Artificial Intelligence Fair $897 119 devs
  27. Puzzle + Artificial Intelligence Fair $809 193 devs
  28. Turn-Based Combat + Artificial Intelligence Fair $719 46 devs
  29. Card Game + Artificial Intelligence Fair $719 40 devs
  30. Farming Sim + Artificial Intelligence Fair $718 17 devs
  31. Hidden Object + Artificial Intelligence Fair $599 55 devs
  32. Point & Click + Artificial Intelligence Fair $505 69 devs
  33. Tabletop + Artificial Intelligence Fair $505 39 devs
  34. Logic + Artificial Intelligence Fair $450 71 devs
  35. Grand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence Long shot $750 21 devs
  36. Trivia + Artificial Intelligence Long shot $120 14 devs
  37. Cooking + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $73k 15 devs
  38. Open World + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $18k 49 devs
  39. Building + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $16k 45 devs
  40. Colony Sim + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $16k 19 devs
  41. Trading + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $16k 15 devs
  42. Economy + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $12k 55 devs
  43. Online Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $12k 55 devs
  44. Base Building + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $11k 39 devs
  45. City Builder + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $9.4k 25 devs
  46. Sandbox + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $9.0k 78 devs
  47. Co-op + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $7.9k 63 devs
  48. 4 Player Local + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $6.9k 11 devs
  49. Immersive Sim + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $6.5k 133 devs
  50. Crafting + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $5.7k 46 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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.