Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Incremental game?

Grid-Based Movement + Incremental

Of 34 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Incremental 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.. 41 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 20 developers shipped in the last year and 41 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 645% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $239 → $0 → $90 → $624 → $1.3k (still earning) → $839 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 5% $4.4k (exactly $4,395)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 88
Announced 41
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 645% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Grid-Based Movement, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Idler, Strategy
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 329 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $4.3k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grid-Based Movement with a different second tag, 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

The Sealed Ampoule 2021 · $34k Mewseum: Masterpieces 2025 · $28k Cat Slide Tiles 2021 · $13k Hot Hentai Puzzle Vol.2 2021 · $13k Rayland 2021 · $7.7k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Sealed Ampoule older $19.99 56 80% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) CAVYHOUSE
Mewseum: Masterpieces $6.99 133 98% 4.0k $28k (exactly $27,890) Climbing Goat Games
Cat Slide Tiles older $2.99 145 98% 4.4k $13k (exactly $13,007) Minicactus Games
Hot Hentai Puzzle Vol.2 older $9.99 42 76% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) Milk Game Studio
Rayland older $2.99 86 91% 2.6k $7.7k (exactly $7,714) Naoka Games
Square Logic older $2.99 82 97% 2.5k $7.4k (exactly $7,355) Climbing Goat Games
Mouse Hunter older $9.99 17 70% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Stas Paty9mkin
Mate'Morphosis $2.99 49 95% 1.5k $4.4k (exactly $4,395) WiseMonkeES, Bruder Studio
Mewseum: Film Festival $6.99 19 100% 570 $4.0k (exactly $3,984) Climbing Goat Games
Rayland 2 older $2.99 44 93% 1.3k $3.9k (exactly $3,947) Naoka Games
Fungal Colony Sim 2 $7.99 13 61% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Skylor Beck
The Board is Yours $2.50 38 97% 1.1k $2.9k (exactly $2,850) Draelent
The Grass Reaper $4.99 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Canary Yellow Games
Evergarden $3.99 17 23% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) GridForge_Labs
Hentai Merge Dice $1.99 25 80% 750 $1.5k (exactly $1,492) theNeko
Mining Grounds $2.99 15 80% 450 $1.3k (exactly $1,346) Jestercraft
Cromania · EA $6.99 6 100% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Momoiu Cerasela Nicoleta

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