Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Puzzle Platformer?

Grid-Based Movement + Puzzle Platformer

Of 62 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Puzzle Platformer 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.. 56 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 56 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 56 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $449 → $1.4k → $1.1k → $359 → $449 → $551 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,319)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $18,591)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 180
Announced 56
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 up 10% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Puzzle Platformer
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, Puzzle Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Logic
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 428 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + RomanceLong shot6 devs · median $300 · 9 announced

All 126 pairs on the Grid-Based Movement page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

About Love, Hate and the other ones 2014 · $150k The Last Cube 2022 · $77k Larcin Lazer 2023 · $72k How to Say Goodbye 2022 · $56k Axyz 2025 · $43k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
About Love, Hate and the other ones older $7.99 626 90% 19k $150k (exactly $150,052) Black Pants Studio
The Last Cube older $19.99 129 96% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Improx Games
Larcin Lazer older $9.99 241 99% 7.2k $72k (exactly $72,228) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini
How to Say Goodbye older $12.99 144 90% 4.3k $56k (exactly $56,117) Florian Veltman, Baptiste Portefaix, AR… (Florian Veltman, Baptiste Portefaix, ARTE France)
Axyz $11.99 120 99% 3.6k $43k (exactly $43,164) Space Lion Studios
House of Rules older $7.99 163 90% 4.9k $39k (exactly $39,071) Chii the Cat
HAMSTERMIND $12.99 73 97% 2.2k $28k (exactly $28,448) Righteous Tree
Swan Song $7.99 95 96% 2.9k $23k (exactly $22,772) Business Goose Studios
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Meet me at NooN older $9.99 55 100% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Pandaroo Interactive
Mirage: Ignis Fatuus $16.99 7 85% 210 $3.6k (exactly $3,568) Illam
Move That Box $4.99 20 85% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Crashykk Games
CLONY $2.99 31 100% 930 $2.8k (exactly $2,781) YORUROJI
Lefty $4.99 18 94% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) Light Studio | نقش الضوء
BarrelBots $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) FidgetBear Games
O.W.L Projekt $1.99 29 79% 870 $1.7k (exactly $1,731) Sagitta Studios

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