Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Deckbuilding

Of 69 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 37 developers shipped in the last year and 74 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 74 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 69
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $2.5k → $179 → $1.2k → $299 → $180 → $210 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 69
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $959 (exactly $959)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $30,585)
Developers, 2 yr 69
Released games 119
Announced 74
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 25% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Deckbuilding; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, RPG
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,067 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $950, 1 in 20 over $30k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 37 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

ROUNDS 2021 · $6.4M METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED 2024 · $491k Arcane Trigger 2025 · $98k YGGDRA REFRAIN 2025 · $93k the World According to Girl 2022 · $45k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED older $9.99 1,639 69% 49k $491k (exactly $491,208) SNK CORPORATION
Arcane Trigger $8.99 363 85% 11k $98k (exactly $97,901) MiniWhale
YGGDRA REFRAIN $9.99 311 79% 9.3k $93k (exactly $93,207) BD
the World According to Girl older $9.99 150 70% 4.5k $45k (exactly $44,955) yondray
JARS older $11.99 104 71% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) Mousetrap Games
Yuma Nest · EA $19.99 57 89% 1.7k $34k (exactly $34,183) Piokou
Spirit Mancer $19.99 51 72% 1.5k $31k (exactly $30,585) Sunny Syrup Studio
魔哆魔哆 Modo Modo $7.99 94 95% 2.8k $23k (exactly $22,532) HAJI HEAVY INDUSTIRES
九州风流 · EA older $17.99 38 60% 1.1k $21k (exactly $20,509) GB
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
WARPATH OF THE UNIVERSE $5.99 64 76% 1.9k $12k (exactly $11,501) Sora
Forbidden Scrolls : Midnight Whispers $10.99 31 80% 930 $10k (exactly $10,221) Ero Echo Studio
Hina-chan's Sticker Survival $6.99 45 95% 1.4k $9.4k (exactly $9,436) ISY
JACKPOISON $8.99 25 44% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) oyajinojiike

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