Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining 2D Platformer?

Mining + 2D Platformer

Of 38 developers who shipped a Mining 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.. 45 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $150. Revenue is flat on the market; 45 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 45 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $824 → $802 → $748 → $598 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.5k (exactly $3,498)
Top 5% $32k (exactly $31,555)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 84
Announced 45
Effort 4 / 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 flat on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, 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 78% positive over 559 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $31k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingStrong odds18 devs · median $22k · 15 announced
  2. + TradingFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  3. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  5. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  6. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  9. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  10. + IdlerFair136 devs · median $2.3k · 185 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced

All 91 pairs on the Mining page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SteamWorld Dig 2 older $19.99 5,700 95% 171k $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) Image & Form Games
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
Dwarfs!? older $9.99 644 79% 19k $193k (exactly $193,007) Power of 2
Dwarf Journey older $9.99 323 92% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Orube Game Studio
HG Adventure · EA older $13.99 132 88% 4.0k $55k (exactly $55,400) 皓际
Snacktorio $7.99 215 90% 6.5k $52k (exactly $51,536) ellraiser
Miner: Dig Deep older $6.99 242 91% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,747) Substance Games
Cavern Adventurers $8.99 117 48% 3.5k $32k (exactly $31,555) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Something Ate My Alien older $16.99 40 87% 1.2k $20k (exactly $20,388) Rokabium Games
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
OREBLAZE $4.99 64 92% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) Ludiminal Games
LURRUNA - The Island of Towering Automatons $9.99 25 100% 750 $7.5k (exactly $7,492) PD_CGT
DIGGERGUN $9.99 20 90% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Kabloop
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Gem Venture $11.99 12 66% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) Jetrosoft
DiDiDiG $8.99 13 100% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) ISIT Studio
MINE : FOREVER $2.99 39 53% 1.2k $3.5k (exactly $3,498) slimestudio

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