Do I ship it?

GamesParty-Based RPGParty-Based RPG + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Party-Based RPG?

Party-Based RPG + Grid-Based Movement

Of 46 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Party-Based RPG 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.. 87 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $13k, ×21 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×258 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 87 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 20.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 87 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party-Based RPG + Grid-Based Movement
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: $132k → $28k → $55k → $23k → $13k → $7.2k → $16k (still earning) → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party-Based RPG + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Median $13k (exactly $13,041)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $43,178)
Top 5% $162k (exactly $162,132)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 154
Announced 87
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 115% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Party-Based RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Party-Based RPG, Grid-Based Movement; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Dungeon Crawler, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,242 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.1k, median $13k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.1k. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 87 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Party-Based RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Board GameFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Point & ClickFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $479 · 16 announced
  5. + Martial ArtsPoor odds5 devs · median $230k · 16 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $49k · 25 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds23 devs · median $34k · 71 announced
  8. + BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 37 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds14 devs · median $21k · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds67 devs · median $19k · 76 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $19k · 51 announced
  12. + IncrementalPoor odds18 devs · median $15k · 45 announced

All 111 pairs on the Party-Based RPG 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
Legend of Grimrock 2 older $23.99 3,065 90% 92k $2.2M (exactly $2,205,880) Almost Human Games
Legend of Grimrock older $14.99 4,844 93% 145k $2.2M (exactly $2,178,347) Almost Human Games
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk older $49.99 1,311 79% 39k $2.0M (exactly $1,966,107) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Low Magic Age · EA older $14.99 3,342 89% 100k $1.5M (exactly $1,502,897) Low Magic Studios
Etrian Odyssey HD older $39.99 963 88% 29k $1.2M (exactly $1,155,311) ATLUS
Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked $29.99 1,235 82% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) Resolution Games
Etrian Odyssey III HD older $39.99 590 88% 18k $708k (exactly $707,823) ATLUS
Wizardry: The Five Ordeals older $39.99 520 85% 16k $624k (exactly $623,844) 59 Studio
Those Who Rule $17.99 1,116 89% 33k $602k (exactly $602,305) Eldin Turulja
THYSIASTERY $17.49 309 80% 9.3k $162k (exactly $162,132) DIRGA
Path of the Abyss $6.99 664 92% 20k $139k (exactly $139,241) Suzuki Suzuzou
Cell Command $17.99 159 97% 4.8k $86k (exactly $85,812) Alpherior
Avernum 4: Greed and Glory $19.99 133 92% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Spiderweb Software
ANIWARS: Call of the Void · EA $12.99 184 93% 5.5k $72k (exactly $71,705) Breaker Interactive
Dragon Ruins II $9.99 209 87% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,637) Graverobber Foundation
Guards II: Chaos in Hell $15.99 125 96% 3.8k $60k (exactly $59,962) Battlecruiser Games
Dverghold · EA $16.99 108 95% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) Team Sorgarn

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