Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Aliens

Of 105 developers who shipped an Alien 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.. 132 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 62 developers shipped in the last year and 132 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 455% on the market, 132 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 105
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $449 → $270 → $539 → $959 → $419 → $899 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 105
Bottom 30% $66 (exactly $66)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $31,029)
Developers, 2 yr 105
Released games 320
Announced 132
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 455% on the market, supply 40% 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.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Aliens
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
2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
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 85% positive over 1,305 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $66, median $480, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $31k.

3 in 10 developers made under $66. 9 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  2. + VampiresFair47 devs · median $1.9k · 50 announced
  3. + MechsFair33 devs · median $1.8k · 44 announced
  4. + PinballFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 9 announced
  5. + WesternFair10 devs · median $1.3k · 13 announced
  6. + CRPGFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorFair178 devs · median $1.0k · 185 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  9. + MiningFair38 devs · median $748 · 45 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Party-Based RPGFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  12. + Tactical RPGFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced

All 226 pairs on the 2D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M Freedom Planet 2014 · $1.5M Contra: Operation Galuga 2024 · $972k Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition 2013 · $495k Xeodrifter 2014 · $221k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
Freedom Planet older $14.99 3,317 96% 100k $1.5M (exactly $1,491,655) GalaxyTrail
Contra: Operation Galuga older $39.99 810 87% 24k $972k (exactly $971,757) WayForward
Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition older $9.99 1,651 85% 50k $495k (exactly $494,805) Eric Chahi, DotEmu
Xeodrifter older $9.99 738 75% 22k $221k (exactly $221,179) Atooi
PLANET ALPHA older $9.99 631 76% 19k $189k (exactly $189,111) Planet Alpha ApS
Zetria older $4.99 1,027 83% 31k $154k (exactly $153,742) Karne
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
LUNARK older $19.99 217 84% 6.5k $130k (exactly $130,135) Canari Games
MAGICAL ANGEL FAIRY HEART older $28.99 132 79% 4.0k $115k (exactly $114,800) UMAI NEKO
ROLLING STAR $11.99 216 96% 6.5k $78k (exactly $77,695) NUL2 STUDIO
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted $24.99 86 81% 2.6k $64k (exactly $64,474) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
Super Roboy $14.99 109 93% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Vincent Penning
ChainStaff $14.99 84 92% 2.5k $38k (exactly $37,775) Mommy's Best Games
Xanthiom 2 $14.99 69 97% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) MathanGames
This Is No Cave $6.99 127 96% 3.8k $27k (exactly $26,632) monome.studio
ION Shift $5.99 140 90% 4.2k $25k (exactly $25,158) Electro Soul Games
Legends of Heropolis DX $10.99 68 42% 2.0k $22k (exactly $22,420) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
METAL SUITS: Counter-attack $9.99 71 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $21,279) Gonggamore Contents

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