Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Dystopian

Of 62 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 139 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×453 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 139 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 139 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $46k → $300 → $1.8k → $1.2k → $4.5k → $1.3k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,185)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 200
Announced 139
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 80% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Dystopian
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
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 13,716 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 139 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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

SANABI 2023 · $19M REPLACED 2026 · $5.5M HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M HAAK 2022 · $1.7M Rusted Moss 2023 · $945k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SANABI older $14.99 41,700 97% 1.3M $19M (exactly $18,752,490) WONDER POTION
REPLACED $19.99 9,130 84% 274k $5.5M (exactly $5,475,261) Sad Cat Studios
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
Rusted Moss older $19.99 1,575 88% 47k $945k (exactly $944,527) Emlise, happysquared, sunnydaze
Kemono Teatime $12.99 1,617 95% 49k $630k (exactly $630,145) Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition older $39.99 504 65% 15k $605k (exactly $604,649) Oddworld Inhabitants
Golf Club Nostalgia older $9.99 1,183 83% 35k $355k (exactly $354,545) Demagog Studio
Slave Zero X older $24.99 438 75% 13k $328k (exactly $328,369) Poppy Works
Possessor(s) $9.99 718 75% 22k $215k (exactly $215,185) Heart Machine
Double Dragon Revive $34.99 157 63% 4.7k $165k (exactly $164,803) YUKE’S
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator $15.99 92 61% 2.8k $44k (exactly $44,132) GameUncle
Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists $9.99 113 84% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,866) Neckbolt
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
Nullstar: Solus $9.99 59 98% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) Smash Attack Aus

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