Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Nature

Of 46 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $35k, ×74 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 61 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $478 → $1.6k → $898 → $1.1k → $4.8k → $2.2k → $0 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,116)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,365)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 141
Announced 61
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 80% on the market, supply 10% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Nature
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Logic, Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, 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 88% positive over 625 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $630, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure 2024 · $205k Drag and Drop Medieval 2024 · $82k Yugo Puzzle 2021 · $59k Tiny Garden 2025 · $42k Toroban 2025 · $36k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure older $19.99 342 91% 10k $205k (exactly $205,097) Furniture & Mattress LLC
Drag and Drop Medieval older $29.99 91 85% 2.7k $82k (exactly $81,873) Galactic Geckon
Yugo Puzzle older $5.99 327 98% 9.8k $59k (exactly $58,762) Qrostar
Tiny Garden $12.99 108 85% 3.2k $42k (exactly $42,088) Ao Norte
Toroban $20.00 60 86% 1.8k $36k (exactly $36,000) Hebert Games LLC
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
ColdRidge $9.99 97 73% 2.9k $29k (exactly $29,071) Frog Collective
Tempopo $19.99 39 97% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Witch Beam
Prickle $6.99 87 100% 2.6k $18k (exactly $18,244) Sunbird Studio
Headlong Hunt older $11.99 47 100% 1.4k $17k (exactly $16,906) Toombler Games
Mycelium Heaven $9.99 24 95% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) 3DGoblinDev
Only Sliding $4.99 47 91% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) Portponky
Proto Garden $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) arreyne
Double Trip $4.99 32 100% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) MaxyLAND

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