Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Dragons

Only 8 developers shipped a Dragon 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, 文字遊戯(日本語版), made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $2.5k against a market of $630. 9 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 320% on the market, 9 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,518)
Top 25% $63k (exactly $62,637)
Top 5% $78k (exactly $77,678)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 26
Announced 9
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 320% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 27%, 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
Dragons
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Grid-Based Movement
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,077 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $62k, 1 in 20 over $77k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown 2019 · $170k Dungeon Of Dragon Knight 2019 · $113k The Dragoness: Command of the Flame 2022 · $80k 文字遊戯(日本語版) 2025 · $78k Dragon Ruins II 2025 · $63k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown older $19.99 284 94% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) Silver Lemur Games
Dungeon Of Dragon Knight older $11.99 315 74% 9.5k $113k (exactly $113,306) HexGameStudio
The Dragoness: Command of the Flame older $19.99 134 67% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Crazy Goat Games
文字遊戯(日本語版) $34.99 74 90% 2.2k $78k (exactly $77,678) Team9, ESQUADRA,inc.
Dragon Ruins II $9.99 209 87% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,637) Graverobber Foundation
Jettatura older $12.99 21 90% 630 $8.2k (exactly $8,184) Nick Baker
One more gem $15.99 7 100% 210 $3.4k (exactly $3,358) Cosmin Munteanu
Crop and Claw older $5.99 18 100% 540 $3.2k (exactly $3,235) Dinoleaf
Realms and Ruins: Abencor $11.99 7 85% 210 $2.5k (exactly $2,518) Bonedude Games Studios LLC
Sub Terra Draconis older $9.99 8 100% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Crystal Shard
Dragonwake $7.99 8 62% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Mr Crops
DragonMirroreD with Hyoga & Magma $4.49 8 100% 240 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) Hyoga the Juggling Dragon, ジャグリングドラゴンヒョ… (Hyoga the Juggling Dragon, ジャグリングドラゴンヒョウガ)
Dicks and Dragons - Puzzle Game $0.99 3 100% 90 $89 (exactly $89) Succubus Factory
Una ad Astra $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Gessler Games

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