Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Grid-Based Movement
Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Dungeon Crawler?
Dungeon Crawler + Grid-Based Movement
Of 98 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Dungeon Crawler 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.. 197 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×341 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 197 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $18,480) |
| Top 5% | $162k (exactly $162,132) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 98 |
| Released games | 302 |
| Announced | 197 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Dungeon Crawler
- 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
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Dungeon Crawler, Grid-Based Movement; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Party-Based RPG, Turn-Based Combat
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Retro, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 27,238 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 197 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Dungeon Crawler with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Time ManagementFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DiceFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + Word GameFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M 
Might & Magic X - Legacy 2014 · $2.9M 
Legend of Grimrock 2 2014 · $2.2M 
Legend of Grimrock 2012 · $2.2M 
Sol Cesto 2026 · $2.0M | 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 | |
| | Might & Magic X - Legacy | older | $29.99 | 3,178 65% | 95k | $2.9M (exactly $2,859,247) | Ubisoft |
| | Legend of Grimrock 2 | older | $23.99 | 3,065 90% | 92k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,880) | Almost Human Games |
| | Legend of Grimrock | older | $14.99 | 4,844 93% | 145k | $2.2M (exactly $2,178,347) | Almost Human Games |
| | Sol Cesto | $13.99 | 4,838 91% | 145k | $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) | Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale) | |
 | Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk | older | $49.99 | 1,311 79% | 39k | $2.0M (exactly $1,966,107) | Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. |
 | Low Magic Age | · EA older | $14.99 | 3,342 89% | 100k | $1.5M (exactly $1,502,897) | Low Magic Studios |
 | Zanki Zero: Last Beginning | older | $59.99 | 650 77% | 20k | $1.2M (exactly $1,169,805) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
 | Etrian Odyssey HD | older | $39.99 | 963 88% | 29k | $1.2M (exactly $1,155,311) | ATLUS |
 | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
 | House of Necrosis | $11.99 | 581 94% | 17k | $209k (exactly $208,986) | Warkus | |
 | THYSIASTERY | $17.49 | 309 80% | 9.3k | $162k (exactly $162,132) | DIRGA | |
 | Path of the Abyss | $6.99 | 664 92% | 20k | $139k (exactly $139,241) | Suzuki Suzuzou | |
 | Tower of Mask | $10.99 | 357 95% | 11k | $118k (exactly $117,703) | Papertip Studio | |
 | Jupiter Hell Classic | · EA | $14.99 | 230 95% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | ChaosForge |
 | Slot & Dungeons | $8.99 | 304 83% | 9.1k | $82k (exactly $81,989) | MUC GAMES | |
 | Avernum 4: Greed and Glory | $19.99 | 133 92% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Spiderweb Software |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.