Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Inventory Management game?

Grid-Based Movement + Inventory Management

Of 31 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Inventory Management 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.. 70 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $61k, ×129 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 70 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 70 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $4.2k → $15k → $3.6k → $899 → $150 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,641)
Top 5% $61k (exactly $61,139)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 83
Announced 70
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 90% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Inventory Management
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, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, CRPG, Dungeon Crawler
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, 2D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 813 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $900, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $61k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

NEO Scavenger 2014 · $2.0M Subterrain: Mines of Titan 2024 · $394k Wayward 2016 · EA · $291k Save Room - Organization Puzzle 2022 · $182k Tower of Mask 2024 · $118k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NEO Scavenger older $14.99 4,437 89% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,995,319) Blue Bottle Games
Subterrain: Mines of Titan older $19.99 657 75% 20k $394k (exactly $394,003) Pixellore Inc
Wayward · EA older $7.99 1,213 86% 36k $291k (exactly $290,756) Unlok
Save Room - Organization Puzzle older $2.99 2,033 97% 61k $182k (exactly $182,360) Fractal Projects
Tower of Mask $10.99 357 95% 11k $118k (exactly $117,703) Papertip Studio
Trolddom $9.99 204 94% 6.1k $61k (exactly $61,139) Plant Based Games
A Kobold Story : Trenchcoat Adventurer $19.99 72 95% 2.2k $43k (exactly $43,178) Crystal Spider Games
Class of Heroes: Anniversary Edition older $19.99 64 70% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) Zerodiv
Legends of Amberland III: The Crimson Tower $19.99 53 98% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Silver Lemur Games
Undeadly older $14.99 45 66% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Irreflex Studios
Eye of the Commando · EA $14.99 34 100% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Adventurepro Games LLC
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Grey Heritage: Noble Duty $19.99 12 91% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) BTrain Studio
Overencumbered In Another World $4.99 31 100% 930 $4.6k (exactly $4,641) Hawaiian Shirt Games
Outpacked $7.99 16 93% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Antikythera Games
Mirage: Ignis Fatuus $16.99 7 85% 210 $3.6k (exactly $3,568) Illam

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