Do I ship it?

Games2D Platformer2D Platformer + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Horror

Of 170 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 261 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×680 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 261 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 261 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 170
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $3.0k → $2.7k → $1.8k → $1.3k → $599 → $2.2k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 170
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,008)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,132)
Top 5% $323k (exactly $323,106)
Developers, 2 yr 170
Released games 546
Announced 261
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 flat on the market, supply 25% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Horror
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 Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 16,219 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 99 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 261 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
INSIDE older $24.99 69,791 97% 2.1M $52M (exactly $52,322,313) Playdead
Blasphemous 2 older $29.99 16,808 91% 504k $15M (exactly $15,122,158) The Game Kitchen
魔女的夜宴 older $34.99 9,664 98% 290k $10M (exactly $10,144,301) YUZUSOFT
Mina the Hollower $19.99 7,562 88% 227k $4.5M (exactly $4,534,931) Yacht Club Games
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo older $19.99 6,123 95% 184k $3.7M (exactly $3,671,963) Square Enix
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
INMOST older $14.99 5,928 90% 178k $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) Hidden Layer Games
Castlevania Dominus Collection older $24.99 2,362 94% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,770,791) KONAMI
Castlevania Advance Collection older $19.99 2,149 91% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,288,755) KONAMI
Castlevania Anniversary Collection older $19.99 1,798 80% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,078,261) KONAMI
Bye Sweet Carole $24.99 1,039 72% 31k $779k (exactly $778,938) Little Sewing Machine
Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary $24.99 987 95% 30k $740k (exactly $739,954) Laplacian
CYAN BRAIN $14.99 1,463 89% 44k $658k (exactly $657,911) NEKOUJI
The Devil Within: Satgat $24.99 795 78% 24k $596k (exactly $596,012) Newcore Games
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Voidwrought $19.99 936 77% 28k $561k (exactly $561,319) Powersnake
NEKOPARA After $9.99 1,198 90% 36k $359k (exactly $359,041) NEKO WORKs
Winion Virus $10.99 980 94% 29k $323k (exactly $323,106) Dawntown Studio
The Aquarium does not dance Special Edition $19.99 277 97% 8.3k $166k (exactly $166,117) 橙々, Gotcha Gotcha Games

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