Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Tower Defense?

Grid-Based Movement + Tower Defense

Of 27 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Tower Defense 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, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $22k, ×48 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 43 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 43 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $3.3k → $1.4k → $2.2k → $180 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,700)
Top 5% $23k (exactly $22,655)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 70
Announced 43
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 75% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Tower Defense
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, Tower Defense; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Combat
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 378 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.7k, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

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. + 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

Death Crown 2019 · $201k Tiny Tactics 2022 · $198k Go Home Dinosaurs! 2013 · $103k Digs TD 2023 · $46k Chrysalis 2024 · $35k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Death Crown older $12.99 516 89% 15k $201k (exactly $201,085) 5WORD Team
Tiny Tactics older $9.99 661 82% 20k $198k (exactly $198,102) Tiny Forge Gaming
Go Home Dinosaurs! older $9.99 344 93% 10k $103k (exactly $103,097) Fire Hose Games
Digs TD older $19.99 76 67% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Digs Team
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
Corrupted: Dawn of Havoc · EA older $14.99 75 65% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) 36Litters
Sweet Dreams Alex older $14.99 58 94% 1.7k $26k (exactly $26,083) Clarity Games
Maze Keeper $8.99 84 47% 2.5k $23k (exactly $22,655) Spaceward Games
Temporal Titans · EA $9.99 44 95% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Lost Tower Games
Block Tower TD older $4.99 88 85% 2.6k $13k (exactly $13,174) MyDreamForever, Tazdraperm
Heroic Aegisio: Origins $7.99 27 77% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) Vview Games
Dice Goblin's Den $11.99 17 94% 510 $6.1k (exactly $6,115) babachoo
Trolls vs Vikings: Reborn $5.99 28 92% 840 $5.0k (exactly $5,032) Megapop
Crystal Fortress $5.00 18 100% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,700) threepointstudio
Ancient TD $4.99 15 60% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Ancient TD
Maze It Out $4.99 15 93% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Limit Test Games
Circuit Maze $3.99 12 100% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Patrik Windahl

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