Do I ship it?

Games › Local Multiplayer › Local Multiplayer + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Grid-Based Movement game?

Local Multiplayer + Grid-Based Movement

Of 29 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 39 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $59 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 18 developers shipped in the last year and 39 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 39 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.2k → $748 → $2.2k → $479 → $0 → $0 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $59 (exactly $59)
Top 25% $779 (exactly $779)
Top 5% $8.5k (exactly $8,544)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 95
Announced 39
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Multiplayer, Grid-Based Movement; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Logic, PvP
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 148 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $59, 1 in 4 over $770, 1 in 20 over $8.5k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Talisman: Digital Classic Edition 2014 · $1.2M Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon 2021 · $311k Death Crown 2019 · $201k Telepath Tactics Liberated 2022 · $72k Cats Love Boxes 2024 · $52k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Talisman: Digital Classic Edition older $6.99 5,557 80% 167k $1.2M (exactly $1,165,303) Nomad Games
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon older $19.99 518 91% 16k $311k (exactly $310,645) VINE, Yacht Club Games
Death Crown older $12.99 516 89% 15k $201k (exactly $201,085) 5WORD Team
Telepath Tactics Liberated older $19.99 120 85% 3.6k $72k (exactly $71,964) Sinister Design
Cats Love Boxes older $3.99 432 97% 13k $52k (exactly $51,710) Devcats
Horn of the Warlord $14.99 30 96% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) MagicKrol
Clash II older $4.99 88 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $13,174) Prime Bit Games SA
PathBlasters older $11.99 25 92% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) Sine Coda
Eternal Warfare older $11.99 24 100% 720 $8.6k (exactly $8,633) Space.cpp
Positron · EA $14.99 19 100% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) Retroburn
SusDoku: Clues & Suspects $4.99 37 35% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) MyNeuronal
Double Trip $4.99 32 100% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) MaxyLAND
Shogi $7.99 14 71% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Popoko VM Games
AD BLOCKER: An Action Puzzle Game $5.99 6 100% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) The AD BLOCKER Team
Gemima $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) FunLittleGames LTD
POGO Stadium · EA $12.99 2 100% 60 $779 (exactly $779) Kyoto Entertainment Works Inc.
SFTP - Super Football Tactics Pro $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Sparkling Vinegar
Mineshaft · EA $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Z Sculpt Entertainment

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