Do I ship it?

Games4 Player Local4 Player Local + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 4 Player Local 2D Platformer?

4 Player Local + 2D Platformer

Of 72 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local 2D Platformer 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.. 116 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $57k, ×121 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 116 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 116 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4 Player Local + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 72
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $210 → $450 → $2.2k → $899 → $1.2k → $1.9k → $1.6k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 4 Player Local + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 72
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $57,288)
Developers, 2 yr 72
Released games 255
Announced 116
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 10% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
4 Player Local, 2D Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Multiplayer, Local Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 9,263 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $900, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $57k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Open WorldFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  2. + Multiple EndingsFair10 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  3. + SimulationFair69 devs · median $2.1k · 86 announced
  4. + Immersive SimFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 15 announced
  5. + CatsFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 16 announced
  6. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  7. + ManagementPoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 37 announced
  8. + Football (Soccer)Poor odds14 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  9. + Beat 'em upPoor odds30 devs · median $8.7k · 67 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $8.5k · 19 announced
  11. + TriviaPoor odds9 devs · median $7.2k · 9 announced
  12. + MinigamesPoor odds12 devs · median $7.2k · 28 announced

All 109 pairs on the 4 Player Local page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
Spelunky 2 older $19.99 19,736 93% 592k $12M (exactly $11,835,679) Mossmouth, BlitWorks
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
SONIC SUPERSTARS older $39.99 2,963 68% 89k $3.6M (exactly $3,554,711) SEGA
Guacamelee! 2 older $19.99 2,711 91% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,625,787) Drinkbox Studios
N++ (NPLUSPLUS) older $14.99 2,825 95% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,270,402) Metanet Software Inc.
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition older $14.99 2,633 93% 79k $1.2M (exactly $1,184,060) Drinkbox Studios
Unruly Heroes older $19.99 763 74% 23k $458k (exactly $457,571) Magic Design Studios
Bloody Trapland older $4.99 2,777 83% 83k $416k (exactly $415,717) 2Play
Dustforce DX older $9.99 1,214 93% 36k $364k (exactly $363,836) Hitbox Team
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed $9.99 447 55% 13k $134k (exactly $133,966) Fair Play Labs
Knock'Em Out $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) BBear Studio
Royalty Free-For-All $11.99 104 86% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) AAAA Games, LLC
Heave Ho 2 $9.99 105 90% 3.2k $31k (exactly $31,468) Le Cartel Studio
Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey and Friends $29.99 31 93% 930 $28k (exactly $27,891) Dlala Studios
This Is No Cave $6.99 127 96% 3.8k $27k (exactly $26,632) monome.studio
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! $39.99 22 59% 660 $26k (exactly $26,393) TAITO CORP., ArcSystemWorks
The Amazing Crackpots Club! $14.99 41 95% 1.2k $18k (exactly $18,438) Astrobard Games, IguanaBee

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