Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Hidden Object

Of 94 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 84 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 53 developers shipped in the last year and 84 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 84 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 94
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $479 → $598 → $505 → $538 → $358 → $180 (still earning) → $358 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 94
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $358 (exactly $358)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $22,144)
Developers, 2 yr 94
Released games 309
Announced 84
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 down 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 1,644 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. Nearly all of the 62 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 53 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

CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k √Letter - Root Letter - 2017 · $330k Shattered Divinities 2026 · $272k Torn Away 2023 · $268k Black Lily's Tale 2023 · $250k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
√Letter - Root Letter - older $19.99 551 78% 17k $330k (exactly $330,435) DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD.
Shattered Divinities $9.99 906 94% 27k $272k (exactly $271,528) 星魂游戏
Torn Away older $14.99 595 92% 18k $268k (exactly $267,572) perelesoq
Black Lily's Tale older $18.99 438 86% 13k $250k (exactly $249,529) 1000-REKA
月藍傳奇REMAKE古文明之謎 older $19.99 244 93% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) 天使蛋糕, 攸藍, 牙籤, 黃金, 咕咕咕, 鎧特
Apocalyptic cat older $29.99 101 84% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Galactic Geckon
Digital Meow older $29.99 101 83% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Galactic Geckon
Piece by Piece $12.99 233 100% 7.0k $91k (exactly $90,800) Neon Polygons
Rap Pop Jump Core older $29.99 91 89% 2.7k $82k (exactly $81,873) Galactic Geckon
Prison Princess: Trapped Allure $19.99 46 86% 1.4k $28k (exactly $27,586) qureate, Orgesta Inc.
Queen of treasure isle · EA $8.99 96 94% 2.9k $26k (exactly $25,891) gobou
Little Adventurer Treasure Hunt $3.99 185 100% 5.6k $22k (exactly $22,144) BIG EYES TATA
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Bubble Ghost Remake $14.99 32 100% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Nakama Game Studio
Fire Hero - Pixel Rescue $9.99 37 97% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Ravenlore Studio
Woolly Boy and the Circus $7.99 42 64% 1.3k $10k (exactly $10,067) big pineapple
FolkOrigin $7.99 36 88% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) LukaszD

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