Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Grid-Based Movement game?

Crafting + Grid-Based Movement

Of 22 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $61k, ×97 the market median. Revenue is up 1245% on the market; 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 1245% on the market, 44 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $898 → $12k → $5.8k → $719 → $899 → $8.1k (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,594)
Top 25% $8.1k (exactly $8,092)
Top 5% $61k (exactly $61,139)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 77
Announced 44
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 1245% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Crafting
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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting, Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Open World, Procedural Generation, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Nonlinear
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 631 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $61k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

NEO Scavenger 2014 · $2.0M Subterrain: Mines of Titan 2024 · $394k Shardpunk 2023 · $310k Wayward 2016 · EA · $291k Save Room - Organization Puzzle 2022 · $182k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NEO Scavenger older $14.99 4,437 89% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,995,319) Blue Bottle Games
Subterrain: Mines of Titan older $19.99 657 75% 20k $394k (exactly $394,003) Pixellore Inc
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Wayward · EA older $7.99 1,213 86% 36k $291k (exactly $290,756) Unlok
Save Room - Organization Puzzle older $2.99 2,033 97% 61k $182k (exactly $182,360) Fractal Projects
Space Prison older $19.99 271 84% 8.1k $163k (exactly $162,519) Wooden Alien
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory $19.99 133 92% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Spiderweb Software
Trolddom $9.99 204 94% 6.1k $61k (exactly $61,139) Plant Based Games
Icaria $24.99 79 75% 2.4k $59k (exactly $59,226) Blindsight Games LLC
Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle older $16.99 108 74% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) 68k Studios
Chronomon · EA $9.99 79 83% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Stone Golem Studios
Hazard Pay $16.99 24 100% 720 $12k (exactly $12,233) Smitner Studio
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Alchemist's Alcove $7.99 32 96% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Nefarious Brew Games
Exipelago $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) reiti.net
Proto Garden $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) arreyne
Overencumbered In Another World $4.99 31 100% 930 $4.6k (exactly $4,641) Hawaiian Shirt Games

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