Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Grid-Based Movement

Of 27 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 22 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 575% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $59 → $90 → $987 → $551 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $298 (exactly $298)
Top 25% $987 (exactly $987)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $18,591)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 71
Announced 22
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 575% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Grid-Based Movement
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, Grid-Based Movement; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Puzzle Platformer, Action
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro, Cartoon
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 200 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $300, 1 in 4 over $980, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 16 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

Larcin Lazer 2023 · $72k Yugo Puzzle 2021 · $59k Heavy Spoilers RPG 2: Your best friend is actually the great demon king 2025 · $33k BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary 2025 · $19k Meet me at NooN 2022 · $16k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Larcin Lazer older $9.99 241 99% 7.2k $72k (exactly $72,228) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini
Yugo Puzzle older $5.99 327 98% 9.8k $59k (exactly $58,762) Qrostar
Heavy Spoilers RPG 2: Your best friend is actually the great demon king $8.99 122 93% 3.7k $33k (exactly $32,903) KSBゲームス
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Meet me at NooN older $9.99 55 100% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Pandaroo Interactive
Erocism older $6.99 44 68% 1.3k $9.2k (exactly $9,227) Momentum Games
Sex Counselor older $4.99 58 75% 1.7k $8.7k (exactly $8,683) Momentum Games
Crate Mates older $4.99 56 100% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Emerick Gibson
Super Retro BoxBot older $9.99 15 100% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Joseph Holliday
sCATch: The Painter Cat older $3.99 29 100% 870 $3.5k (exactly $3,471) Colossus Game Studio
Mr.Robbo $9.99 5 40% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) It8bit Club
Tetro Runner $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Rollmop Games Studio
Baduk Challenge (Go Challenge) $10.99 4 50% 120 $1.3k (exactly $1,319) OH YU HWAN
Chihuahua Controller $3.99 10 80% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) SinPoDo
いそげヒーロー $2.99 11 90% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Menon
OMG! – Overhead Micro Game $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Freddicus Game Studios, LLC
Gemima $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) FunLittleGames LTD
GraviChess $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Lumpy Software

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