Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Mechs

Of 33 developers who shipped a Mech 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.. 44 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $50. Revenue is up 485% on the market; 44 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 485% on the market, 44 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $20k → $2.1k → $27k → $719 → $33k → $64k → $899 (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,797)
Top 25% $7.6k (exactly $7,645)
Top 5% $417k (exactly $416,589)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 91
Announced 44
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 485% on the market, supply 100% 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.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Mechs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
2D Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,667 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 $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $410k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  2. + VampiresFair47 devs · median $1.9k · 50 announced
  3. + PinballFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 9 announced
  4. + WesternFair10 devs · median $1.3k · 13 announced
  5. + CRPGFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + Psychological HorrorFair178 devs · median $1.0k · 185 announced
  7. + Arena ShooterFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  8. + MiningFair38 devs · median $748 · 45 announced
  9. + RoguelikeFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  10. + Party-Based RPGFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  11. + Tactical RPGFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced
  12. + TanksFair11 devs · median $599 · 11 announced

All 226 pairs on the 2D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mighty Goose 2021 · $566k Guns of Fury 2025 · $427k Nitro Express 2025 · $417k DEVIL BLADE REBOOT 2024 · $397k Slave Zero X 2024 · $328k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mighty Goose older $19.99 943 86% 28k $566k (exactly $565,517) Blastmode, MP2 Games
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
Nitro Express $12.99 1,069 75% 32k $417k (exactly $416,589) Grayfax Software
DEVIL BLADE REBOOT older $15.99 827 98% 25k $397k (exactly $396,712) SHIGATAKE GAMES
Slave Zero X older $24.99 438 75% 13k $328k (exactly $328,369) Poppy Works
The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors older $19.99 430 92% 13k $258k (exactly $257,871) Winning Entertainment Group Inc.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider older $16.99 489 85% 15k $249k (exactly $249,243) JoyMasher
Panzer Paladin older $19.99 334 76% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Tribute Games Inc.
Japanese Rail Sim: Journey to Kyoto older $59.99 111 87% 3.3k $200k (exactly $199,767) Sonic Powered Co.,Ltd.
Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening $24.99 119 77% 3.6k $89k (exactly $89,214) Magic Pockets
BioMenace Remastered $14.99 186 99% 5.6k $84k (exactly $83,644) Rigel Gameworks
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted $24.99 86 81% 2.6k $64k (exactly $64,474) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
Haneda Girl $14.99 74 94% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Studio Koba
Electrogical $7.99 87 93% 2.6k $21k (exactly $20,854) kinjo
FZ: Formation Z $29.99 16 87% 480 $14k (exactly $14,395) Granzella Inc.
R-TYPE DX: Music Encore $14.99 17 94% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) CITY CONNECTION
MONUMENTUM $3.99 63 95% 1.9k $7.5k (exactly $7,541) Jakob Scott

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