Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Music

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Music 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Music

Of 26 developers who shipped a Music 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2247 the market median. Revenue is up 5300% on the market; 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 5300% on the market, 34 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Music
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $53k → $239 → $600 → $299 → $4.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Music: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,541)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 102
Announced 34
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 up 5300% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Music
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Rhythm, Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 5,213 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $7.5k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

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. + 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

Ratatan 2025 · EA · $1.8M PLATiNA :: LAB 2026 · $1.1M Degrees of Separation 2019 · $606k Electronic Super Joy 2013 · $592k One Hand Clapping 2021 · $394k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ratatan · EA $24.99 2,449 85% 73k $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts
PLATiNA :: LAB $19.99 1,780 50% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466) HIGH-END Games
Degrees of Separation older $19.99 1,011 80% 30k $606k (exactly $606,297) Moondrop
Electronic Super Joy older $7.99 2,471 89% 74k $592k (exactly $592,299) Michael Todd Games
One Hand Clapping older $14.99 877 84% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Bad Dream Games
MOMO Crash $12.00 707 89% 21k $255k (exactly $254,520) SKOOTA GAMES
Valiant Hearts: Coming Home older $14.99 529 62% 16k $238k (exactly $237,891) Ubisoft Da Nang, Ubisoft Montpellier
BIT.TRIP BEAT older $9.99 662 82% 20k $198k (exactly $198,401) Gaijin Games
Onde older $13.99 236 91% 7.1k $99k (exactly $99,049) Lance, 3-50
River City Girls Zero older $14.99 190 67% 5.7k $85k (exactly $85,443) WayForward
Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia $24.99 28 100% 840 $21k (exactly $20,992) Ocellus Studio
Sex Beats $9.99 62 77% 1.9k $19k (exactly $18,581) Naku Kinoko
PixelJunk™ Eden 2 $14.99 23 78% 690 $10k (exactly $10,343) Q-Games Ltd.
A Pinball Game That Makes You Mad $9.99 27 81% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Azimuth Studios
Dream Rhythm $3.99 63 90% 1.9k $7.5k (exactly $7,541) Naku Kinoko
Erotic Rhythm $3.99 61 90% 1.8k $7.3k (exactly $7,302) Naku Kinoko
The Oneironaut $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Jetebra Games

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