Do I ship it?

GamesGrid-Based MovementGrid-Based Movement + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Female Protagonist

Of 48 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 64 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $74k, ×157 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 64 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 64 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $23k → $27k → $2.1k → $13k → $1.7k → $23k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,700)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,388)
Top 5% $74k (exactly $74,363)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 148
Announced 64
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 105% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Grid-Based Movement; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Puzzle, RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,564 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. Nearly all of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk older $49.99 1,311 79% 39k $2.0M (exactly $1,966,107) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Lara Croft GO older $9.99 3,274 94% 98k $981k (exactly $981,218) Square Enix Montréal
Dungeon Drafters older $24.99 563 76% 17k $422k (exactly $422,081) Manalith Studios
Avernum: Escape From the Pit older $9.99 1,191 91% 36k $357k (exactly $356,943) Spiderweb Software
LABYRINTH OF TOUHOU - GENSOKYO AND THE HEAVEN-PIERCING TREE older $29.99 363 89% 11k $327k (exactly $326,591) Nise-Eikoku Studio, CUBETYPE
House of Necrosis $11.99 581 94% 17k $209k (exactly $208,986) Warkus
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure older $19.99 342 91% 10k $205k (exactly $205,097) Furniture & Mattress LLC
Shattered Planet older $14.99 406 68% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) Kitfox Games
Grimoire : Heralds of the Winged Exemplar (V2) older $9.99 590 67% 18k $177k (exactly $176,823) Cleveland Mark Blakemore
Dawnsbury Days older $4.99 922 98% 28k $138k (exactly $138,023) Dawnsbury Studios
Treasure 'n Trio $14.99 242 100% 7.3k $109k (exactly $108,827) TNT
Mythmatch $19.99 124 98% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) Team Artichoke
Touhou Spell Carnival $49.99 49 77% 1.5k $73k (exactly $73,485) Idea Factory, Compile Heart, STING
Gales of Nayeli $24.99 87 88% 2.6k $65k (exactly $65,224) Blindcoco Studios
Blobun $9.99 151 99% 4.5k $45k (exactly $45,255) CyanSorcery
Touhou Rinrinki ~ Crafts of the Lucky Beast · EA $9.99 117 92% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Starcrow Dev
RED DAWN · EA $12.99 84 91% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) Dynamic Duo Games
HoloDungeon: Koyori vs HollowLive in Honsha Tower · EA $12.99 84 72% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) VELUX STUDIO
Ex Sanguis · EA $19.99 45 77% 1.4k $27k (exactly $26,986) Lightbulb Crew

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