Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Management game?

Management + Grid-Based Movement

Of 42 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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.. 82 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $27k, ×44 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 82 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 82 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $1.0k → $1.3k → $1.2k → $1.0k → $2.9k (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Top 5% $27k (exactly $27,432)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 114
Announced 82
Effort 5 / 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 up 55% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management, Grid-Based Movement; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Building, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Top-Down, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 445 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $27k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mashinky 2018 · EA · $1.8M Death Crown 2019 · $201k Save Room - Organization Puzzle 2022 · $182k Mortal Glory 2020 · $133k Mortal Glory 2 2024 · $106k
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
Death Crown older $12.99 516 89% 15k $201k (exactly $201,085) 5WORD Team
Save Room - Organization Puzzle older $2.99 2,033 97% 61k $182k (exactly $182,360) Fractal Projects
Mortal Glory older $7.99 553 86% 17k $133k (exactly $132,554) Redbeak Games
Mortal Glory 2 older $11.99 296 87% 8.9k $106k (exactly $106,471) Redbeak Games
Together in Battle $19.99 134 90% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Sinister Design
Dragon Ruins older $4.99 365 90% 11k $55k (exactly $54,640) Graverobber Foundation
One-inch Tactics older $19.99 88 94% 2.6k $53k (exactly $52,774) KOGADO STUDIO
Tiny Garden $12.99 108 85% 3.2k $42k (exactly $42,088) Ao Norte
Can't Live Without Electricity older $4.99 229 94% 6.9k $34k (exactly $34,281) MELOVITY
A Little Age $14.99 61 62% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Benerot
Runerock Arena $11.99 23 86% 690 $8.3k (exactly $8,273) Areena Games
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Trackastrophe! $8.99 29 100% 870 $7.8k (exactly $7,821) Kinoko Studio
Exipelago $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) reiti.net
Proto Garden $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) arreyne
Goblins Can Conquer $6.99 27 59% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) starea
Turn Based Boxing: Tactics - Legends Edition $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) The Slanted Room

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