Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Match 3

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Match 3 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Match 3

Of 25 developers who shipped a Match 3 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.. 9 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $30 in the last 2 years and $30 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 9 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 9 announced, ×0.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Match 3
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $30 → $30 → $90 → $0 (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Match 3: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $30 (exactly $30)
Top 25% $599 (exactly $599)
Top 5% $3.9k (exactly $3,880)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 66
Announced 9
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Match 3
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Match 3; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Strategy, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 147 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $30, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $3.8k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 17 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

Miss Neko 3 2022 · $401k MOVERS IN THE WAREHOUSE 2021 · $8.2k Fat Mask 2017 · $8.1k Cash Horse - Match 3 Puzzle Adventure 2021 · $6.6k Rune Ark 2025 · $6.1k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Miss Neko 3 older $2.99 4,470 92% 134k $401k (exactly $400,959) Double W
MOVERS IN THE WAREHOUSE older $24.99 11 90% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Bocharov Games
Fat Mask older $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Paper Cult
Cash Horse - Match 3 Puzzle Adventure older $9.99 22 100% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Dnovel
Rune Ark $6.99 29 65% 870 $6.1k (exactly $6,081) WelesGames
Shoot! & Ahhhhh~ $1.99 65 83% 2.0k $3.9k (exactly $3,880) HighSpeed Games
Gems of Magic: Lost Family older $9.99 10 40% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Graphium Studio
Scavenger of Dunomini older $5.99 15 100% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Magic gems older $4.99 16 75% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Beneath the Night Productions
Color Crush 2 older $5.99 11 54% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) Frederik Holst
Ultimate Sugar Crush! — Brick Breaker Desire $2.99 17 88% 510 $1.5k (exactly $1,525) CHOCOLAT, LLC.
1234 connect puzzle $2.99 10 100% 300 $897 (exactly $897) strawberrygohan
Trials Of Randoom $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) Teion Games
Match-3 Juice Bar $1.99 11 90% 330 $657 (exactly $657) Game98
99 Games: Puzzle, Action, Strategy, Simulation, Casual, Roguelike, Shooter, RPG & More $9.99 2 50% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Chongqing Xishou Technology Co., Ltd
Fragments of Us $6.99 2 50% 60 $419 (exactly $419) 雪鸽工作室
Ultimate Sugar Crush! $1.99 7 100% 210 $418 (exactly $418) CHOCOLAT, LLC.
See-Through Marbles $8.99 1 100% 30 $270 (exactly $270) BLAZER inc

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