Do I ship it?

Games › Economy › Economy + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Economy game?

Economy + Grid-Based Movement

Of 20 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Economy 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.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 29 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 185% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $539 → $3.1k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,115)
Top 5% $27k (exactly $27,432)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 41
Announced 29
Effort 5 / 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 185% on the market, supply 325% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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.

Economy
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
Economy, Grid-Based Movement; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 199 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $27k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mashinky 2018 · EA · $1.8M A Little Age 2026 · $27k Star Traders: 4X Empires 2014 · $18k Block Tower TD 2 2024 · $11k Runerock Arena 2026 · $8.3k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mashinky · EA older $24.99 2,361 84% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,770,042) Jan Zelený
A Little Age $14.99 61 62% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Benerot
Star Traders: 4X Empires older $9.99 61 60% 1.8k $18k (exactly $18,282) Trese Brothers
Block Tower TD 2 older $12.99 29 75% 870 $11k (exactly $11,301) MyDreamForever, Tazdraperm
Runerock Arena $11.99 23 86% 690 $8.3k (exactly $8,273) Areena Games
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Exipelago $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) reiti.net
Dice Goblin's Den $11.99 17 94% 510 $6.1k (exactly $6,115) babachoo
Rails Across America older $9.99 18 72% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Flying Lab Software, ZOOM Platform Medi… (Flying Lab Software, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group)
Truck City $5.99 20 80% 600 $3.6k (exactly $3,594) Mikel Fernandez
Upalu Mundi $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) True Baboons
Port Trader $5.99 13 46% 390 $2.3k (exactly $2,336) Urban Isotope
Tracktopia $4.99 8 100% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) GalaDev
Lunokhod $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Lunokhod Labs

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