Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Logic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Logic 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Logic

Of 192 developers who shipped a Logic 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.. 191 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 110 developers shipped in the last year and 191 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 191 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Logic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 192
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $449 → $386 → $659 → $599 → $150 → $269 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Logic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 192
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 5% $91k (exactly $90,800)
Developers, 2 yr 192
Released games 585
Announced 191
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 25% on the market, supply 30% 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
Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Logic; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Puzzle Platformer, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 9,799 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $90k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 100 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 191 games are announced against 110 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

The Pedestrian 2020 · $3.1M Train45 2026 · $1.3M Braid, Anniversary Edition 2024 · $1.1M Leap Year 2024 · $458k Mind Over Magnet 2024 · $403k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Pedestrian older $19.99 5,173 96% 155k $3.1M (exactly $3,102,248) Skookum Arts
Train45 $10.99 3,823 97% 115k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,443) Elniko
Braid, Anniversary Edition older $19.99 1,761 92% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,056,072) Thekla, Inc.
Leap Year older $4.99 3,060 96% 92k $458k (exactly $458,082) Daniel Linssen
Mind Over Magnet $9.99 1,344 89% 40k $403k (exactly $402,797) Game Maker's Toolkit
Moonleap older $8.99 1,340 99% 40k $361k (exactly $361,398) guselect
Stellar Code $24.98 448 97% 13k $336k (exactly $335,731) Fragaria
Trainee Death Simulator $5.99 1,746 92% 52k $314k (exactly $313,756) Bone Nail
Teslagrad 2 older $19.99 419 76% 13k $251k (exactly $251,274) Rain Games
Juufuutei Raden™'s Guide for Pixel Museum $19.99 357 98% 11k $214k (exactly $214,093) Jupiter Corporation
Bat to the Heavens $14.99 407 95% 12k $183k (exactly $183,028) ceroro
Gloomy Eyes $24.99 155 94% 4.7k $116k (exactly $116,204) Atlas V, Be Revolution Gaming, 3Dar, Fi… (Atlas V, Be Revolution Gaming, 3Dar, Fishing Cactus, ARTE France)
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
Super Puzzled Cat $16.99 183 98% 5.5k $93k (exactly $93,275) Penguin Mug Games
Piece by Piece $12.99 233 100% 7.0k $91k (exactly $90,800) Neon Polygons

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