Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Science

Only 9 developers shipped a Science Grid-Based Movement game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Cell Command, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $900 against a market of $480. 12 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 12 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $900 (exactly $900)
Top 25% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 5% $86k (exactly $85,812)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 31
Announced 12
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% fewer 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
Science
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
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 599 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $1.1k, 1 in 20 over $85k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 12 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Cell Command 2025 · $86k The Last Cube 2022 · $77k Sokobond Express 2024 · $38k HYNPYTOL 2023 · $29k ALAN-13 Reformation 2022 · $16k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cell Command $17.99 159 97% 4.8k $86k (exactly $85,812) Alpherior
The Last Cube older $19.99 129 96% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Improx Games
Sokobond Express older $14.99 84 90% 2.5k $38k (exactly $37,775) José Hernández, Draknek & Friends
HYNPYTOL older $14.99 64 98% 1.9k $29k (exactly $28,781) base0
ALAN-13 Reformation older $15.99 34 82% 1.0k $16k (exactly $16,310) Viktor Kovács
Hydra Slayer older $5.99 45 93% 1.4k $8.1k (exactly $8,086) Zeno Rogue
SuperPosition $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Kimel
Stack Machines older $11.99 9 100% 270 $3.2k (exactly $3,237) UP DEVELOPMENT LTD.
Helper Cat older $0.99 51 82% 1.5k $1.5k (exactly $1,515) Giant Head
RYBot older $5.99 8 100% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Pinethree Interactive
Pixel Forge $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) MELOVITY
Gakuin Makyo ~High School Crisis~ $1.99 18 50% 540 $1.1k (exactly $1,075) PISOFT Co., Ltd.
GameSyndicates $29.99 1 100% 30 $900 (exactly $900) GameSyndicates
Lab Escape: Box Puzzle Game $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Pointless Games AB
Exo Exploits · EA $4.99 1 0% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Flying Hound Studio
Agent Higgs 2 · EA $10.00 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) TestTubeGames
PlanetMars3D: Spirit Mission $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 4AI Limited

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