Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Board Game

Of 59 developers who shipped a Board Game 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $95 in the last 2 years and $150 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 41 developers shipped in the last year and 27 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 620% on the market, 27 announced, ×0.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $718 → $239 → $30 → $90 → $30 → $200 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $95 (exactly $95)
Top 25% $599 (exactly $599)
Top 5% $25k (exactly $24,746)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 153
Announced 27
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 620% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Board Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
2D Platformer, Board Game; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Tabletop
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 450 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $95, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $24k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different second tag, 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

Adorables 2016 · $452k Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] 2015 · $287k No Retreat! The Russian Front 2026 · $72k yahtzee girl 2023 · $66k Fritz 19 SE 2023 · $59k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Adorables older $29.99 502 80% 15k $452k (exactly $451,649) White Rabbit
Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] older $9.99 957 92% 29k $287k (exactly $286,813) Zoo Corporation
No Retreat! The Russian Front $29.99 80 76% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) Cyril Jarnot, Avalon Digital
yahtzee girl older $2.99 735 89% 22k $66k (exactly $65,930) snappixgames
Fritz 19 SE older $69.99 28 71% 840 $59k (exactly $58,792) ChessBase GmbH
仙之气 · EA $10.99 114 74% 3.4k $38k (exactly $37,586) 按键工坊
Azure Orphanage older $16.99 60 78% 1.8k $31k (exactly $30,582) cominami
Fritz Chess 20 Steam Edition $54.99 15 46% 450 $25k (exactly $24,746) ChessBase GmbH
Odd||Even older $19.99 36 55% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,589) kylix studio
Happy Puzzle older $1.99 337 86% 10k $20k (exactly $20,119) HappyGames
Tower Realm $3.99 103 59% 3.1k $12k (exactly $12,329) Charge Piggy Studio , Kitchen Group
Forbidden Scrolls : Midnight Whispers $10.99 31 80% 930 $10k (exactly $10,221) Ero Echo Studio
Guandan $4.99 29 89% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Pixel Dance
即时象棋：旧棋新弈 Hyper Chinese Chess $1.99 51 76% 1.5k $3.0k (exactly $3,045) 上弦月工作室AscentGames
Fritz - Dein Schachtrainer 2 $19.99 5 0% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) ChessBase GmbH
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom $3.99 15 66% 450 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) 班超工作室
FLOWORKS · EA $7.99 7 71% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) QUENCH FORGE

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