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Should I ship a Combat Grid-Based Movement game?
Combat + Grid-Based Movement
Of 93 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 195 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $55k, ×88 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 195 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $208 (exactly $208) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) |
| Top 5% | $55k (exactly $55,048) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 236 |
| Announced | 195 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Combat
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Grid-Based Movement
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Grid-Based Movement; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Combat
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 20,546 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 195 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M 
Hard West 2 2022 · $2.4M 
Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M 
Card-en-Ciel 2024 · $642k 
Warside 2025 · $410k | 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 | |
| | Hard West 2 | older | $29.99 | 2,717 80% | 82k | $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) | Ice Code Games |
| | Cobalt Core | older | $19.99 | 4,067 95% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) | Rocket Rat Games |
| | Card-en-Ciel | $24.99 | 856 90% | 26k | $642k (exactly $641,743) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
| | Warside | $24.99 | 547 68% | 16k | $410k (exactly $410,086) | LAVABIRD | |
 | Field of Glory II: Medieval | older | $29.99 | 424 86% | 13k | $381k (exactly $381,473) | Byzantine Games |
 | The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 625 83% | 19k | $375k (exactly $374,812) | Mana Games |
 | The Warlock of Firetop Mountain | older | $19.99 | 352 76% | 11k | $211k (exactly $211,094) | Tin Man Games |
 | Tiny Tactics | older | $9.99 | 661 82% | 20k | $198k (exactly $198,102) | Tiny Forge Gaming |
 | Möbius Front '83 | older | $19.99 | 328 74% | 9.8k | $197k (exactly $196,702) | Zachtronics |
 | Guards II: Chaos in Hell | $15.99 | 125 96% | 3.8k | $60k (exactly $59,962) | Battlecruiser Games | |
 | Dverghold | · EA | $16.99 | 108 95% | 3.2k | $55k (exactly $55,048) | Team Sorgarn |
 | RED DAWN | · EA | $12.99 | 84 91% | 2.5k | $33k (exactly $32,735) | Dynamic Duo Games |
 | Legends of Amberland III: The Crimson Tower | $19.99 | 53 98% | 1.6k | $32k (exactly $31,784) | Silver Lemur Games | |
 | Astro Protocol | $11.99 | 66 93% | 2.0k | $24k (exactly $23,740) | Null Vector Studios | |
 | Maze Keeper | $8.99 | 84 47% | 2.5k | $23k (exactly $22,655) | Spaceward Games | |
 | Combat Directive : Napoleonic Wars | $19.99 | 36 88% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,589) | Fatice Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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