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Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Card Game?
Grid-Based Movement + Card Game
Of 41 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Card 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.. 85 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×187 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 85 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $25,183) |
| Top 5% | $89k (exactly $88,591) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 98 |
| Announced | 85 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Grid-Based Movement
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Grid-Based Movement, Card Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Strategy, Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 20,489 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grid-Based Movement with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
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Comparable games
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M 
Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M 
Talisman: Digital Classic Edition 2014 · $1.2M 
Card-en-Ciel 2024 · $642k 
Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG 2023 · $533k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors | $9.99 | 18,587 96% | 558k | $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) | poncle, Nosebleed Interactive | |
| | Cobalt Core | older | $19.99 | 4,067 95% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) | Rocket Rat Games |
| | Talisman: Digital Classic Edition | older | $6.99 | 5,557 80% | 167k | $1.2M (exactly $1,165,303) | Nomad Games |
| | Card-en-Ciel | $24.99 | 856 90% | 26k | $642k (exactly $641,743) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
| | Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG | older | $29.99 | 592 95% | 18k | $533k (exactly $532,622) | D20Studios |
 | Dungeon Drafters | older | $24.99 | 563 76% | 17k | $422k (exactly $422,081) | Manalith Studios |
 | For The Warp | older | $14.99 | 434 72% | 13k | $195k (exactly $195,170) | Massive Galaxy Studios |
 | Pawnbarian | older | $9.99 | 450 91% | 14k | $135k (exactly $134,865) | j4nw |
 | Dark Quest 3 | older | $18.99 | 231 73% | 6.9k | $132k (exactly $131,601) | Brain Seal Ltd |
 | Go Home Dinosaurs! | older | $9.99 | 344 93% | 10k | $103k (exactly $103,097) | Fire Hose Games |
 | Master of Piece | · EA | $14.99 | 197 86% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | I M GAME, I M fine |
 | Takara Cards | $14.99 | 112 83% | 3.4k | $50k (exactly $50,366) | Post Mortem Pixels | |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
 | Shuffle Tactics | $14.99 | 95 70% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $42,722) | Club Sandwich | |
 | Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble | $14.99 | 93 91% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | Slothwerks | |
 | Toads of the Bayou | $9.99 | 137 72% | 4.1k | $41k (exactly $41,059) | La Grange | |
 | Touhou Rinrinki ~ Crafts of the Lucky Beast | · EA | $9.99 | 117 92% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,065) | Starcrow Dev |
 | Gold and Graves | $5.99 | 180 86% | 5.4k | $32k (exactly $32,346) | Yoon |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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