Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Grid-Based Movement game?

Choices Matter + Grid-Based Movement

Of 54 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 113 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×187 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 113 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 113 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $593 → $1.3k → $12k → $299 → $5.9k → $1.1k → $419 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,930)
Top 5% $89k (exactly $88,591)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 143
Announced 113
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 75% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,209 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 $750, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
King Arthur: Knight's Tale older $44.99 6,722 83% 202k $9.1M (exactly $9,072,683) NeocoreGames
TRIANGLE STRATEGY older $59.99 3,239 78% 97k $5.8M (exactly $5,829,228) Square Enix, ARTDINK
Sol Cesto $13.99 4,838 91% 145k $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale)
Those Who Rule $17.99 1,116 89% 33k $602k (exactly $602,305) Eldin Turulja
King Arthur: Legion IX older $19.99 774 72% 23k $464k (exactly $464,168) NeocoreGames
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain older $19.99 352 76% 11k $211k (exactly $211,094) Tin Man Games
Soul Nomad & the World Eaters older $19.99 170 78% 5.1k $102k (exactly $101,949) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Codeglue
Master of Piece · EA $14.99 197 86% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) I M GAME, I M fine
Slot & Dungeons $8.99 304 83% 9.1k $82k (exactly $81,989) MUC GAMES
Islands of the Caliph older $9.99 272 88% 8.2k $82k (exactly $81,518) Schmidt Workshops
Together in Battle $19.99 134 90% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Sinister Design
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory $19.99 133 92% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Spiderweb Software
Gales of Nayeli $24.99 87 88% 2.6k $65k (exactly $65,224) Blindcoco Studios
Takara Cards $14.99 112 83% 3.4k $50k (exactly $50,366) Post Mortem Pixels
Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble $14.99 93 91% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Slothwerks
Stackflow $6.99 195 88% 5.9k $41k (exactly $40,892) Caue Ferrareto

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