Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Historical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Historical

Of 22 developers who shipped a Historical 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $540. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $50k → $6.1k → $5.8k → $2.7k (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,992)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $21,589)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 61
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 down 20% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Historical
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Combat, PvE
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Hand-drawn, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 388 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 $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grid-Based Movement with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + EconomyFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 29 announced
  2. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $959 · 26 announced
  3. + MiningFair12 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + CollectathonFair17 devs · median $809 · 17 announced
  5. + BuildingFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  6. + HackingFair14 devs · median $719 · 11 announced
  7. + SokobanFair143 devs · median $657 · 135 announced
  8. + ProgrammingFair23 devs · median $599 · 24 announced
  9. + DogsFair14 devs · median $599 · 7 announced
  10. + PlatformerFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  11. + Puzzle PlatformerFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  12. + RomanceLong shot6 devs · median $300 · 9 announced

All 126 pairs on the Grid-Based Movement page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mashinky 2018 · EA · $1.8M Classified: France '44 2024 · $1.0M Field of Glory II: Medieval 2021 · $381k Fire & Maneuver 2023 · $84k Ludus Mortis 2024 · $50k
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
Classified: France '44 older $39.99 844 70% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,012,547) Absolutely Games
Field of Glory II: Medieval older $29.99 424 86% 13k $381k (exactly $381,473) Byzantine Games
Fire & Maneuver older $9.99 281 68% 8.4k $84k (exactly $84,216) Armchair Interactive, Targon Studios
Ludus Mortis older $17.99 93 89% 2.8k $50k (exactly $50,192) 68k Studios
Zen Garden older $9.99 136 73% 4.1k $41k (exactly $40,759) 300 fps
Mewseum: Masterpieces $6.99 133 98% 4.0k $28k (exactly $27,890) Climbing Goat Games
Skyward Collapse older $4.99 184 49% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Arcen Games
Combat Directive : Napoleonic Wars $19.99 36 88% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,589) Fatice Games
SGS Heia Safari older $24.99 24 95% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) The Strategy Game Studio
Horn of the Warlord $14.99 30 96% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) MagicKrol
SOG: Vietnam $12.99 33 93% 990 $13k (exactly $12,860) PigeonMakesGames, Games By Loki
Vinecard $9.99 42 95% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) SiriusStudio
Stratego® Online $11.99 25 96% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) Wanted 5 Games
Cold War Battles $19.99 12 91% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) Kudos Games
Sokobos 2 $9.99 23 100% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) Martin Games
Antiyoy $4.99 41 85% 1.2k $6.1k (exactly $6,138) yiotro
Navigating The Labyrinth $14.99 13 76% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dragon Dropper

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