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Should I ship a Procedural Generation Grid-Based Movement game?
Procedural Generation + Grid-Based Movement
Of 105 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 179 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $76k, ×162 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 179 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,789) |
| Top 5% | $77k (exactly $76,752) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 105 |
| Released games | 268 |
| Announced | 179 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 20% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Grid-Based Movement
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Procedural Generation, Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Roguelike
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 6,574 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 179 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Procedural Generation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SnowFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + IdlerFair
- + LogicFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sol Cesto | $13.99 | 4,838 91% | 145k | $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) | Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale) | |
| | NEO Scavenger | older | $14.99 | 4,437 89% | 133k | $2.0M (exactly $1,995,319) | Blue Bottle Games |
| | Mashinky | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,361 84% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,770,042) | Jan Zelený |
| | Jupiter Hell | older | $24.99 | 1,795 91% | 54k | $1.3M (exactly $1,345,712) | ChaosForge |
| | ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery) | older | $14.99 | 1,253 86% | 38k | $563k (exactly $563,474) | Thomas Biskup, Jochen Terstiege, Zeno R… (Thomas Biskup, Jochen Terstiege, Zeno Rogue, Krzysztof Dycha, Lucas Dieguez) |
| | StarCrawlers | older | $19.99 | 793 82% | 24k | $476k (exactly $475,562) | Juggernaut Games |
| | Dungeon Drafters | older | $24.99 | 563 76% | 17k | $422k (exactly $422,081) | Manalith Studios |
| | For The Warp | older | $14.99 | 434 72% | 13k | $195k (exactly $195,170) | Massive Galaxy Studios |
| | Shattered Planet | older | $14.99 | 406 68% | 12k | $183k (exactly $182,578) | Kitfox Games |
| | THYSIASTERY | $17.49 | 309 80% | 9.3k | $162k (exactly $162,132) | DIRGA | |
| | Veterum | $19.99 | 204 85% | 6.1k | $122k (exactly $122,339) | Crasleen Games | |
| | Jupiter Hell Classic | · EA | $14.99 | 230 95% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | ChaosForge |
| | Together in Battle | $19.99 | 134 90% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $80,360) | Sinister Design | |
| | Lost In The Open | · EA | $15.99 | 160 61% | 4.8k | $77k (exactly $76,752) | Black Voyage Games |
| | Trolddom | $9.99 | 204 94% | 6.1k | $61k (exactly $61,139) | Plant Based Games | |
| | Icaria | $24.99 | 79 75% | 2.4k | $59k (exactly $59,226) | Blindsight Games LLC | |
| | Into the Emberlands | $6.59 | 253 79% | 7.6k | $50k (exactly $50,018) | Tiny Roar | |
| | Cyclopean: The Great Abyss | $9.99 | 163 89% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,851) | Schmidt Workshops |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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