Do I ship it?

Games › Loot › Loot + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot 2D Platformer?

Loot + 2D Platformer

Of 63 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×631 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 90 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.9k → $898 → $7.6k → $719 → $2.9k → $479 → $807 (still earning) → $45 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $807 (exactly $807)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,823)
Top 5% $396k (exactly $396,402)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 143
Announced 90
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 50% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 9,532 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $810, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M We Need To Go Deeper 2019 · $2.2M Neon Abyss 2 2025 · EA · $1.2M Lucky Tower Ultimate 2026 · $1.0M Scarlet Maiden 2023 · $931k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
We Need To Go Deeper older $15.99 4,652 86% 140k $2.2M (exactly $2,231,564) Deli Interactive LLC
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
Lucky Tower Ultimate $14.99 2,281 94% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,025,766) Studio Seufz
Scarlet Maiden older $10.99 2,825 94% 85k $931k (exactly $931,402) Otterside Games
再刷一把2：金色传说 $9.99 2,748 44% 82k $824k (exactly $823,576) 滑稽工作室
Astalon: Tears of the Earth older $19.99 995 92% 30k $597k (exactly $596,702) LABS Works
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
大千世界 older $3.99 2,289 86% 69k $274k (exactly $273,993) 滑稽工作室
Flinthook older $14.99 600 73% 18k $270k (exactly $269,820) Tribute Games Inc.
Soul's Chronicle: Immortal Slayer $14.99 441 77% 13k $198k (exactly $198,318) 正向星光工作室
黯渊崛起：魔灵深渊 $7.30 508 80% 15k $111k (exactly $111,252) 攸缘游戏
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
Zombiehood $9.99 132 86% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) Weak Spots, Dead Traveler
Idle Land of Exile $4.99 239 68% 7.2k $36k (exactly $35,778) 所以然
Queen of treasure isle · EA $8.99 96 94% 2.9k $26k (exactly $25,891) gobou

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