Do I ship it?

Games2D Platformer2D Platformer + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Detective

Of 79 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 76 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 47 developers shipped in the last year and 76 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 76 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $538 → $2.1k → $358 → $419 → $330 → $750 → $449 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 5% $69k (exactly $69,161)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 187
Announced 76
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 125% on the market, supply 40% 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
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Visual Novel
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 9,460 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $450, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Threefold Recital $14.99 5,117 98% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) Everscape Games
Fallen girl - Black rose and the fire of desire older $14.99 1,204 70% 36k $541k (exactly $541,439) BoRoBoRoGame
FLAM EVAW $9.99 1,378 95% 41k $413k (exactly $412,987) 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司
√Letter - Root Letter - older $19.99 551 78% 17k $330k (exactly $330,435) DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD.
Billionaire Lovers older $2.99 3,652 95% 110k $328k (exactly $327,584) Ayacat Games
Trainee Death Simulator $5.99 1,746 92% 52k $314k (exactly $313,756) Bone Nail
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
Black Lily's Tale older $18.99 438 86% 13k $250k (exactly $249,529) 1000-REKA
Traditional Chinese Medicine Simulator · EA older $14.99 304 96% 9.1k $137k (exactly $136,709) 曲波
TOUQI $4.99 462 89% 14k $69k (exactly $69,161) 橙光游戏
Paper Bride 7 Lethal Bond $9.99 218 92% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) HeartBeat Plus
Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! $17.99 120 81% 3.6k $65k (exactly $64,764) Shadow Glove
The Perfect Pencil $24.99 68 70% 2.0k $51k (exactly $50,980) Studio Cima
Graces: Posthumous Wish $7.99 187 93% 5.6k $45k (exactly $44,824) TomoToro
久美子之死:昭和少女血色告白 $8.99 125 88% 3.8k $34k (exactly $33,712) LingVision Games
Recall: Empty Wishes $14.99 39 94% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Puff Hook Studio

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