Do I ship it?

GamesGrid-Based MovementGrid-Based Movement + Multiple Endings

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Multiple Endings game?

Grid-Based Movement + Multiple Endings

Of 28 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Multiple Endings 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.. 58 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $79k, ×168 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 58 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 58 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Multiple Endings
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $6.2k → $1.0k → $6.5k → $1.5k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Multiple Endings: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,500)
Top 25% $7.7k (exactly $7,670)
Top 5% $80k (exactly $79,760)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 73
Announced 58
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 60% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Multiple Endings
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, Multiple Endings; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Deckbuilding
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,332 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $79k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon older $19.99 518 91% 16k $311k (exactly $310,645) VINE, Yacht Club Games
Soul Nomad & the World Eaters older $19.99 170 78% 5.1k $102k (exactly $101,949) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Codeglue
Fidel Dungeon Rescue older $9.99 316 94% 9.5k $95k (exactly $94,705) Daniel Benmergui, Jeremías Babini, Hern… (Daniel Benmergui, Jeremías Babini, Hernán Rozenwasser)
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory $19.99 133 92% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Spiderweb Software
Geneforge 2 - Infestation older $19.99 124 98% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) Spiderweb Software
Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown older $19.99 110 77% 3.3k $66k (exactly $65,967) Tin Man Games, Zero One Studio
La Pucelle: Ragnarok older $19.99 88 88% 2.6k $53k (exactly $52,774) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Engine Soft… (Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Engine Software BV)
Takara Cards $14.99 112 83% 3.4k $50k (exactly $50,366) Post Mortem Pixels
House of Rules older $7.99 163 90% 4.9k $39k (exactly $39,071) Chii the Cat
AiliA $11.99 66 89% 2.0k $24k (exactly $23,740) IceToad Studio LLC
Dice 'n Goblins $13.99 55 90% 1.7k $23k (exactly $23,084) Tsukumogami Software
CrossinG KnighTMarE - A Hymn to the Defiled Holy Maidens $24.99 11 90% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Ki-SofTWarE
Alchemist's Alcove $7.99 32 96% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Nefarious Brew Games
Funeral Flowers Lament: Helena $16.99 15 73% 450 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) Kiseki Kobo Games
Radix Chronicle $6.99 31 100% 930 $6.5k (exactly $6,501) Luna Flora
New Meat $4.99 21 100% 630 $3.1k (exactly $3,144) Alex Lemley

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