Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Futuristic

Of 169 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 312 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 96 developers shipped in the last year and 312 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 312 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 169
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $298 → $479 → $2.1k → $1.8k → $599 → $718 → $240 (still earning) → $135 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 169
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $360 (exactly $360)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Top 5% $78k (exactly $77,695)
Developers, 2 yr 169
Released games 551
Announced 312
Effort 4 / 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 down 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Futuristic
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 9,257 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $77k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 312 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

ANNO: Mutationem 2022 · $4.4M MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M PLATiNA :: LAB 2026 · $1.1M Narita Boy 2021 · $871k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ANNO: Mutationem older $24.99 5,833 80% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,373,000) ThinkingStars
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
PLATiNA :: LAB $19.99 1,780 50% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466) HIGH-END Games
Narita Boy older $24.99 1,162 79% 35k $871k (exactly $871,151) Studio Koba
Cyanotype Daydream -The Girl Who Dreamed the World- older $39.99 710 88% 21k $852k (exactly $851,787) Laplacian
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Golf Club Nostalgia older $9.99 1,183 83% 35k $355k (exactly $354,545) Demagog Studio
Stellar Code $24.98 448 97% 13k $336k (exactly $335,731) Fragaria
Slave Zero X older $24.99 438 75% 13k $328k (exactly $328,369) Poppy Works
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio
Advent NEON® $19.99 300 98% 9.0k $180k (exactly $179,910) CryoGX
INAYAH - Life after Gods $15.99 230 71% 6.9k $110k (exactly $110,331) Exogenesis Studios
Clockwork Ambrosia $19.99 133 84% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Realmsoft
ROLLING STAR $11.99 216 96% 6.5k $78k (exactly $77,695) NUL2 STUDIO
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted $24.99 86 81% 2.6k $64k (exactly $64,474) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF

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