Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Management game?

Management + 2D Platformer

Of 70 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Management game 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 44 developers shipped in the last year and 74 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 74 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $4.3k → $898 → $8.1k → $239 → $270 → $657 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $56,569)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 189
Announced 74
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 up 170% on the market, supply 70% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Management
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
Management, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Resource Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 21,549 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 $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Aeruta $19.99 2,391 94% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) FromDawn Games
Voice Love on Air older $29.99 526 86% 16k $473k (exactly $473,242) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT, Noisy Fish
Game Dev Story older $8.99 1,445 89% 43k $390k (exactly $389,716) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story $19.99 468 98% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dungeon Village older $8.99 829 88% 25k $224k (exactly $223,581) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dwarfs!? older $9.99 644 79% 19k $193k (exactly $193,007) Power of 2
Dream Town Island older $12.99 490 95% 15k $191k (exactly $190,953) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Magical Delicacy older $24.99 240 77% 7.2k $180k (exactly $179,928) Skaule
Dungeon Village 2 older $8.99 662 86% 20k $179k (exactly $178,541) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
BM game Co. $7.99 236 75% 7.1k $57k (exactly $56,569) zzzgame
Snacktorio $7.99 215 90% 6.5k $52k (exactly $51,536) ellraiser
Heian City Story $8.99 164 85% 4.9k $44k (exactly $44,231) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Legends of Heropolis DX $10.99 68 42% 2.0k $22k (exactly $22,420) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Legends of Immortality · EA $8.99 57 29% 1.7k $15k (exactly $15,373) 云梦山工作室
Sunset Game Shop Shayou $9.99 41 90% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Lobstudio

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