Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Hex Grid

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Hex Grid game?

Level Editor + Hex Grid

Of 22 developers who shipped a Level Editor Hex Grid 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.. 20 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $23k, ×38 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 20 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 20 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Hex Grid
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $179 → $6.1k → $599 → $4.0k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Hex Grid: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,676)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 65
Announced 20
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 165% 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.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Hex Grid
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Level Editor, Hex Grid; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Board Game
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing
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 91% positive over 345 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hex of Steel 2020 · $647k 军团战棋Legion War 2021 · $222k Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero 2024 · $151k Hexologic 2018 · $102k Valor & Victory 2021 · $98k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hex of Steel older $24.99 863 95% 26k $647k (exactly $646,991) War Frogs Studio
军团战棋Legion War older $9.99 741 89% 22k $222k (exactly $222,078) Bear & Cat Studio
Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero older $29.99 168 76% 5.0k $151k (exactly $151,150) Kraken Studios
Hexologic older $4.99 684 96% 21k $102k (exactly $102,395) MythicOwl
Valor & Victory older $19.99 163 69% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Yobowargames
Attack at Dawn: North Africa older $29.99 101 87% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Panzer Division Games
Wizards and Warlords older $9.99 253 82% 7.6k $76k (exactly $75,824) Valravn Games
Radiis older $14.99 95 90% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Urban Goose Games
WARBORN older $24.99 51 76% 1.5k $38k (exactly $38,235) Raredrop Games Ltd
Atlas Architect older $5.99 202 70% 6.1k $36k (exactly $36,299) Danial Rashidi
Tactical Annihilation $15.99 56 98% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) B.G. Game Studio
Plentiful · EA $9.99 79 91% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) GabberGames
Qianli: The Vastscape Scroll $9.99 79 86% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Betobe Studio
HexaScape: Cyber Defense $14.99 15 100% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Clockwork Origins
Antiyoy $4.99 41 85% 1.2k $6.1k (exactly $6,138) yiotro
Shroomtopia $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) GXN Games
Alien Cartographer $4.99 27 92% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) FachchefGames
UniWar $7.99 14 71% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Spooky House
Sente $7.99 11 100% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Oxobox Games Studios
Mordfield Command $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Software Verde, LLC

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