Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Mystery Dungeon?

Grid-Based Movement + Mystery Dungeon

Of 25 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Mystery Dungeon 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.. 26 more are announced, ×2.2 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 $900; 1 in 20 cleared $81k, ×173 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 26 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $360 → $1.0k → $898 → $3.8k → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $7.4k (exactly $7,404)
Top 5% $82k (exactly $81,989)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 63
Announced 26
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $9.99

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 10% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Mystery Dungeon
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, Mystery Dungeon; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Dungeon Crawler, RPG, Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,199 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $81k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

Dungeon Drafters 2023 · $422k The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition 2015 · $375k House of Necrosis 2025 · $209k Slot & Dungeons 2026 · $82k Obsidian Prince 2022 · $46k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dungeon Drafters older $24.99 563 76% 17k $422k (exactly $422,081) Manalith Studios
The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition older $19.99 625 83% 19k $375k (exactly $374,812) Mana Games
House of Necrosis $11.99 581 94% 17k $209k (exactly $208,986) Warkus
Slot & Dungeons $8.99 304 83% 9.1k $82k (exactly $81,989) MUC GAMES
Obsidian Prince older $14.99 103 77% 3.1k $46k (exactly $46,319) Unleash The Giraffe
Digs TD older $19.99 76 67% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Digs Team
The Sealed Ampoule older $19.99 56 80% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) CAVYHOUSE
HoloDungeon: Koyori vs HollowLive in Honsha Tower · EA $12.99 84 72% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) VELUX STUDIO
Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure Remastered Edition $9.99 103 94% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) NEKOTOKAGE GAMES
Dragonero $19.99 38 68% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Operaludica
Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion $14.99 33 84% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Starstruck Games
Slayer : the Demon Haunted World $12.99 19 68% 570 $7.4k (exactly $7,404) PLAY Mephistowaltz
Onychomp : Lush journey $12.99 18 100% 540 $7.0k (exactly $7,015) Howl Studio
[English] AbsentedAge 2: Ghostbound $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) terunon's Lab
不思議の大冒険 チルノ見参！２ $9.99 11 90% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) CrossLodge

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