Do I ship it?

GamesGrid-Based MovementGrid-Based Movement + Traditional Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Traditional Roguelike?

Grid-Based Movement + Traditional Roguelike

Of 27 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement Traditional Roguelike 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.. 37 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×218 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 37 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 37 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Traditional Roguelike
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: $418 → $5.4k → $3.0k → $4.3k → $1.9k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Traditional Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Top 25% $6.2k (exactly $6,232)
Top 5% $103k (exactly $103,431)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 64
Announced 37
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 down 35% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Traditional Roguelike
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, Traditional Roguelike; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Roguelike, Procedural Generation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,107 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 19 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. + 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Low Magic Age · EA older $14.99 3,342 89% 100k $1.5M (exactly $1,502,897) Low Magic Studios
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)
Dungeonmans older $14.99 1,089 90% 33k $490k (exactly $489,723) Adventurepro Games LLC
Wayward · EA older $7.99 1,213 86% 36k $291k (exactly $290,756) Unlok
House of Necrosis $11.99 581 94% 17k $209k (exactly $208,986) Warkus
Shattered Planet older $14.99 406 68% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) Kitfox Games
Sproggiwood older $14.99 326 79% 9.8k $147k (exactly $146,602) Freehold Games
Mortal Glory older $7.99 553 86% 17k $133k (exactly $132,554) Redbeak Games
Jupiter Hell Classic · EA $14.99 230 95% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) ChaosForge
HoloDungeon: Koyori vs HollowLive in Honsha Tower · EA $12.99 84 72% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) VELUX STUDIO
Shadowed: The Demon Castle of Ooe $15.99 56 92% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) Lab Rabbit Games ltd
Deadzoned · EA $4.99 66 98% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) caiys
Alchemist's Alcove $7.99 32 96% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Nefarious Brew Games
Babel of Ystilia $7.99 26 100% 780 $6.2k (exactly $6,232) sundalik
Ricave $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Rogueatic Games
Trial of Ariah $11.95 12 91% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,302) 30 Minute Games
[English] AbsentedAge 2: Ghostbound $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) terunon's Lab

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