Do I ship it?

GamesJRPGJRPG + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer JRPG?

JRPG + 2D Platformer

Of 150 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer JRPG 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.. 157 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×6.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $600. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 157 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 157 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
JRPG + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 150
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $2.1k → $3.1k → $3.3k → $4.2k → $3.8k → $3.8k (still earning) → $6.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for JRPG + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 150
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $4.2k (exactly $4,194)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,183)
Top 5% $166k (exactly $166,433)
Developers, 2 yr 150
Released games 443
Announced 157
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 175% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

JRPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
JRPG, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Multiple Endings
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,495 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $4.2k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 89 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 157 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

JRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds12 devs · median $54k · 6 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds43 devs · median $21k · 23 announced
  3. + NinjaFair7 devs · median $19k · 10 announced
  4. + RomanceFair153 devs · median $13k · 164 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  6. + ManagementFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair41 devs · median $8.4k · 45 announced
  9. + LootFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair25 devs · median $4.0k · 21 announced
  12. + Resource ManagementFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced

All 142 pairs on the JRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R older $49.99 3,229 92% 97k $4.8M (exactly $4,842,531) Square Enix, Gemdrops, Inc.
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo older $19.99 6,123 95% 184k $3.7M (exactly $3,671,963) Square Enix
Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune older $24.99 1,914 82% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,434,926) IceSitruuna
Hylics 2 older $14.99 3,158 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,420,153) Mason Lindroth
Dragon Marked For Death older $39.99 985 77% 30k $1.2M (exactly $1,181,704) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Gestalt: Steam & Cinder older $19.99 1,850 79% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,109,445) Metamorphosis Games
灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 $9.99 3,682 90% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) 莓夜工作室
The Censor DX Edition $17.99 1,467 82% 44k $792k (exactly $791,740) Tiramisu, Big S Studio
Super Neptunia RPG older $29.99 872 78% 26k $785k (exactly $784,538) Artisan Studios
Succubus Affection older $19.99 1,185 91% 36k $711k (exactly $710,644) Succubus Diary
KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- $54.99 403 78% 12k $665k (exactly $664,829) Nihon Falcom
Trainee Death Simulator $5.99 1,746 92% 52k $314k (exactly $313,756) Bone Nail
緋月仙行錄 $19.99 454 57% 14k $272k (exactly $272,264) 月光草
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
HYKE:Northern Light(s) $27.99 242 73% 7.3k $203k (exactly $203,207) Akatsuki Games Inc., Blast Edge Games I… (Akatsuki Games Inc., Blast Edge Games Inc.)
Fallen Tear: The Ascension · EA $24.99 222 81% 6.7k $166k (exactly $166,433) Winter Crew Studios
Sakura Gozen $16.99 320 96% 9.6k $163k (exactly $163,104) kaniheadcrab
Arisen Force: HeroTest $10.99 374 82% 11k $123k (exactly $123,308) Lemport

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