Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Demons

Only 11 developers shipped a Demon Grid-Based Movement game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Jupiter Hell Classic, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $600 against a market of $480. 24 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 24 announced, ×6.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $120 → $776 → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,880)
Top 5% $103k (exactly $103,431)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 33
Announced 24
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 40% on the market, supply 45% fewer 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Grid-Based Movement
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 440 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $600, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.

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

Hard West 2 2022 · $2.4M Jupiter Hell 2021 · $1.3M Jupiter Hell Classic 2025 · EA · $103k Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle 2021 · $55k Zavix Tower 2016 · $52k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hard West 2 older $29.99 2,717 80% 82k $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) Ice Code Games
Jupiter Hell older $24.99 1,795 91% 54k $1.3M (exactly $1,345,712) ChaosForge
Jupiter Hell Classic · EA $14.99 230 95% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) ChaosForge
Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle older $16.99 108 74% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) 68k Studios
Zavix Tower older $9.99 174 63% 5.2k $52k (exactly $52,148) Batholith Entertainment
Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure Remastered Edition $9.99 103 94% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) NEKOTOKAGE GAMES
Gem Wizards Tactics older $9.99 50 76% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Keith Burgun Games
LEGIE older $1.99 199 88% 6.0k $12k (exactly $11,880) Spytihněv
Deadzoned · EA $4.99 66 98% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) caiys
Into The Inferno older $14.99 20 95% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Dragon Dropper
Ancient TD $4.99 15 60% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Ancient TD
Daydam Knight $1.99 13 69% 390 $776 (exactly $776) Parham
Covenant Tower $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Pixel Crate Games
Dante's RUMBA $5.99 2 100% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Bardzo Julia Games
Grandma's In Hell $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Adam Howell
SneakBit $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Hidden Mugs
Dicks and Dragons - Puzzle Game $0.99 3 100% 90 $89 (exactly $89) Succubus Factory

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