Do I ship it?

GamesGrid-Based MovementGrid-Based Movement + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Magic

Of 78 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 113 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $45k, ×95 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 113 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 113 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 78
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $8.6k → $360 → $8.6k → $5.0k → $3.7k → $449 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 78
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $7.4k (exactly $7,404)
Top 5% $45k (exactly $45,255)
Developers, 2 yr 78
Released games 199
Announced 113
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 85% on the market, supply 30% 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
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Grid-Based Movement; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Top-Down
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 87% positive over 1,032 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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
Might & Magic X - Legacy older $29.99 3,178 65% 95k $2.9M (exactly $2,859,247) Ubisoft
Vaporum older $19.99 998 84% 30k $599k (exactly $598,501) Fatbot Games, s. r. o.
The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition older $19.99 625 83% 19k $375k (exactly $374,812) Mana Games
Mercenaries Blaze older $19.99 561 75% 17k $336k (exactly $336,432) ESQUADRA,inc., RideonJapan
Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister older $19.99 235 87% 7.1k $141k (exactly $140,930) Vestaria Project
Dark Quest 3 older $18.99 231 73% 6.9k $132k (exactly $131,601) Brain Seal Ltd
Dragon Fin Soup older $19.99 146 60% 4.4k $88k (exactly $87,556) Grimm Bros, LLC
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern older $7.99 346 74% 10k $83k (exactly $82,936) Monkey Stories
Slot & Dungeons $8.99 304 83% 9.1k $82k (exactly $81,989) MUC GAMES
The Dragoness: Command of the Flame older $19.99 134 67% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Crazy Goat Games
文字遊戯(日本語版) $34.99 74 90% 2.2k $78k (exactly $77,678) Team9, ESQUADRA,inc.
Touhou Spell Carnival $49.99 49 77% 1.5k $73k (exactly $73,485) Idea Factory, Compile Heart, STING
Blobun $9.99 151 99% 4.5k $45k (exactly $45,255) CyanSorcery
The Darkness Below $16.99 78 80% 2.3k $40k (exactly $39,757) ELEFTHERIADIS SAVVAS
Dawn of the Ashen Queen $19.99 60 81% 1.8k $36k (exactly $35,982) Shattered Moon Games
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure Remastered Edition $9.99 103 94% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) NEKOTOKAGE GAMES
WizardChess $14.99 56 83% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) TwoPM Studios
Tempopo $19.99 39 97% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Witch Beam

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