Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Hex Grid

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hex Grid Action game?

Action + Hex Grid

Of 21 developers who shipped a Hex Grid Action 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.. 31 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 $480 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 12 developers shipped in the last year and 31 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 31 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Hex Grid
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $150 → $598 → $6.2k → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Hex Grid: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $480 (exactly $480)
Top 25% $3.5k (exactly $3,506)
Top 5% $28k (exactly $27,844)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 75
Announced 31
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 down 85% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Hex Grid
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Action, Hex Grid; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Adventure, Character Customization
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,070 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $480, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $27k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ 2014 · $17M Age of Wonders III 2014 · $6.3M Pit People® 2018 · $4.5M Unity of Command II 2019 · $1.8M The Troop 2023 · $979k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ older $39.99 14,047 61% 421k $17M (exactly $16,852,186) Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux))
Age of Wonders III older $29.99 7,020 81% 211k $6.3M (exactly $6,315,894) Triumph Studios
Pit People® older $19.99 7,458 92% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,472,563) The Behemoth
Unity of Command II older $29.99 2,042 79% 61k $1.8M (exactly $1,837,187) 2x2 Games, Croteam
The Troop older $39.99 816 83% 24k $979k (exactly $978,955) Giant Flame
In Falsus $39.99 788 89% 24k $945k (exactly $945,364) lowiro
Faeria older $19.99 1,520 83% 46k $912k (exactly $911,544) Abrakam Entertainment SA
Blackguards older $9.99 3,000 63% 90k $899k (exactly $899,100) Daedalic Entertainment
Attack at Dawn: North Africa older $29.99 101 87% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Panzer Division Games
Z Dawn older $9.99 259 72% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,622) GoldenGod Games
Gunbot Diplomacy $4.99 186 86% 5.6k $28k (exactly $27,844) Sleepy Sentry
Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss $19.99 22 63% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) Polyarc
Wild Country $24.99 11 54% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Lost Native
Beneath The Six · EA $7.99 26 73% 780 $6.2k (exactly $6,232) Magicave
Starbug Troopers : The 4 horseflies of the apocalypse $8.99 13 84% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Big Loot Games
ErMa (Early Mammal) $7.99 11 90% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) AlmyriganHero
Train Trek · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Aixceptional
VR # AVOID $4.99 6 83% 180 $898 (exactly $898) s0trax994
Free-Bees $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Alex Williams, Lloyd May

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