Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Space

Of 38 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 43 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180, ×0.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. Revenue is down 95% on the market, with 43 games announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 43 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $628 → $1.8k → $2.8k → $959 → $898 → $120 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,740)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 104
Announced 43
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 95% on the market, supply 70% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Grid-Based Movement; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Choices Matter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 376 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics 2019 · $215k For The Warp 2022 · $195k Shattered Planet 2014 · $183k Space Prison 2024 · $163k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics older $19.99 358 75% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) Tortuga Team
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
Space Prison older $19.99 271 84% 8.1k $163k (exactly $162,519) Wooden Alien
Takara Cards $14.99 112 83% 3.4k $50k (exactly $50,366) Post Mortem Pixels
The Infinite Black 2 older $6.99 201 87% 6.0k $42k (exactly $42,150) Spellbook
Ignited Steel: Mech Tactics older $14.99 82 73% 2.5k $37k (exactly $36,875) Yokaicade
Astro Protocol $11.99 66 93% 2.0k $24k (exactly $23,740) Null Vector Studios
Relic Space older $17.99 38 78% 1.1k $21k (exactly $20,509) Fourfold Games
WORMHOLE $9.99 51 98% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) Pocket Moon Games, ThanaThan
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Horizons: The End Of Words $5.99 33 87% 990 $5.9k (exactly $5,930) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Starbug Troopers : The 4 horseflies of the apocalypse $8.99 13 84% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Big Loot Games
Hexitten $14.99 7 100% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Korkea Maki Studios
CLONY $2.99 31 100% 930 $2.8k (exactly $2,781) YORUROJI
Globs $2.99 28 100% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) Ninesliced, ArkanYota, Notgoyome, Theob… (Ninesliced, ArkanYota, Notgoyome, Theobosse, Strochnis, Yolwoocle)
Asterogue $5.99 8 100% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Chris McCormick

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