Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Cats

Of 23 developers who shipped a Cat Grid-Based Movement 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.. 18 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $14k, ×31 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 18 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 18 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $90 → $3.0k → $1.7k → $898 → $599 → $298 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 5% $15k (exactly $14,840)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 68
Announced 18
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 70% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
Systems
Grid-Based Movement; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Logic, Collectathon
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.49 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.49 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 322 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $14k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grid-Based Movement with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HistoricalFair22 devs · median $3.0k · 30 announced
  2. + EconomyFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 29 announced
  3. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $959 · 26 announced
  4. + MiningFair12 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair17 devs · median $809 · 17 announced
  6. + BuildingFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  7. + HackingFair14 devs · median $719 · 11 announced
  8. + SokobanFair143 devs · median $657 · 135 announced
  9. + ProgrammingFair23 devs · median $599 · 24 announced
  10. + DogsFair14 devs · median $599 · 7 announced
  11. + PlatformerFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  12. + Puzzle PlatformerFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced

All 126 pairs on the Grid-Based Movement page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

TRIANGLE STRATEGY 2022 · $5.8M Cats Love Boxes 2024 · $52k Mewseum: Masterpieces 2025 · $28k KoroNeko 2024 · $27k Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion 2025 · $15k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TRIANGLE STRATEGY older $59.99 3,239 78% 97k $5.8M (exactly $5,829,228) Square Enix, ARTDINK
Cats Love Boxes older $3.99 432 97% 13k $52k (exactly $51,710) Devcats
Mewseum: Masterpieces $6.99 133 98% 4.0k $28k (exactly $27,890) Climbing Goat Games
KoroNeko older $8.99 101 97% 3.0k $27k (exactly $27,240) Nomadroid
Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion $14.99 33 84% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Starstruck Games
Cat Slide Tiles older $2.99 145 98% 4.4k $13k (exactly $13,007) Minicactus Games
Steam Tactics older $4.99 51 88% 1.5k $7.6k (exactly $7,635) Igor Rashkuev
Cast Cats older $5.99 30 100% 900 $5.4k (exactly $5,391) LORD KAIN, WerFEST Software
Cat Needs $2.99 51 98% 1.5k $4.6k (exactly $4,575) LeJunesArt
Nekograms $7.49 20 100% 600 $4.5k (exactly $4,494) Hungry Sky
Mewseum: Film Festival $6.99 19 100% 570 $4.0k (exactly $3,984) Climbing Goat Games
cat lines $3.99 18 83% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,155) Tribus Games Indie
Spelly Cat · EA $9.99 7 100% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) Brkn Fixie Games
Meow Mission $3.99 14 100% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) Accelix
Just a Little Purr suit $3.99 14 85% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) Wise Box Studios
Mimi in Meowndering House $2.99 13 100% 390 $1.2k (exactly $1,166) Wise Box Studios

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