Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Dinosaurs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dinosaur 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Dinosaurs

Of 20 developers who shipped a Dinosaur 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.. 21 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×641 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 21 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 21 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Dinosaurs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $210 → $718 → $2.3k → $599 → $959 → $1.5k → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Dinosaurs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 5% $403k (exactly $402,616)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 71
Announced 21
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 350% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Dinosaurs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
2D Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,484 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $960, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Dinotica 2026 · $403k Primal Planet 2025 · $377k Super Time Force Ultra 2014 · $304k Dungeon Village 2022 · $224k Dino Run DX 2015 · $202k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dinotica $17.99 746 86% 22k $403k (exactly $402,616) XA Studio
Primal Planet $19.99 629 88% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Seethingswarm
Super Time Force Ultra older $14.99 677 90% 20k $304k (exactly $304,447) Capybara Games
Dungeon Village older $8.99 829 88% 25k $224k (exactly $223,581) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dino Run DX older $5.99 1,124 95% 34k $202k (exactly $201,983) Pixeljam
Dungeon Village 2 older $8.99 662 86% 20k $179k (exactly $178,541) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
JumpJet Rex older $9.99 248 91% 7.4k $74k (exactly $74,326) TreeFortress Games
Little Orpheus older $4.99 393 67% 12k $59k (exactly $58,832) The Chinese Room
New Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja older $24.99 78 55% 2.3k $58k (exactly $58,477) Mr. Nutz Studio
Jet Kave Adventure older $14.99 122 85% 3.7k $55k (exactly $54,863) 7Levels
Dino Quake $7.99 54 100% 1.6k $13k (exactly $12,944) Neutronized
Dinopunk: the Cacops adventure $7.99 18 94% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) The Dude Games
Fire Boy $6.99 11 81% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Caraca Games
Roxy Raccoon 3: Troubles in Time $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Sinomod Studios
Dino Jump Deluxe $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Pixeljam
Dinosaur Cousin Squad $12.99 3 100% 90 $1.2k (exactly $1,169) Stegalosaurus Game Development
Neanderthallica $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Cheers LLC
Akimbo: Kung-Fu Hero $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Iridon Interactive AB

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