Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Grid-Based Movement game?

Grid-Based Movement + Underground

Only 18 developers shipped an Underground 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, Path of the Abyss, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 13 developers shipped in the last year and 23 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479 → $358 → $269 (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,747)
Top 5% $139k (exactly $139,241)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 38
Announced 23
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 160% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Dungeon Crawler, Party-Based RPG, RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 1990's, Retro, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 870 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $420, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 13 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

Path of the Abyss 2025 · $139k Dverghold 2026 · EA · $55k Demon Lord Reincarnation 2023 · $28k Netherguild 2023 · EA · $27k Labyrinth of Aetheria 2026 · EA · $18k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Path of the Abyss $6.99 664 92% 20k $139k (exactly $139,241) Suzuki Suzuzou
Dverghold · EA $16.99 108 95% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) Team Sorgarn
Demon Lord Reincarnation older $7.99 115 66% 3.5k $28k (exactly $27,566) Graverobber Foundation
Netherguild · EA older $12.49 73 93% 2.2k $27k (exactly $27,353) David Vinokurov
Labyrinth of Aetheria · EA $14.00 44 90% 1.3k $18k (exactly $18,480) Jimineko Games
The Wratch's Den older $5.99 61 78% 1.8k $11k (exactly $10,962) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Dungeons Of The Deep older $14.99 22 59% 660 $9.9k (exactly $9,893) Gray Mantis
Jettatura older $12.99 21 90% 630 $8.2k (exactly $8,184) Nick Baker
Club Soko $13.99 18 100% 540 $7.6k (exactly $7,555) Miracle Tea
Exipelago $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) reiti.net
Turn Based Boxing: Tactics - Legends Edition $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) The Slanted Room
Mineshaft · EA $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Z Sculpt Entertainment
Pix Eliz Great Trilogy $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) LM2Play Studio, Marion L'asticot
Fate And Destiny - The Elonia Chronicles $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Judox Studio
Collect All These Stones! (CATS) $1.99 6 66% 180 $358 (exactly $358) Well Dumb Games

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