Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Mystery Dungeon

Of 30 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 22 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $1.5k → $598 → $148 → $150 → $1.1k → $180 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,291)
Top 5% $47k (exactly $46,777)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 115
Announced 22
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 down 70% on the market, supply 30% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Mystery Dungeon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 676 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $300, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $46k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 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

Sakura Gozen 2026 · $163k Bikini Armour Explorers 2022 · $72k Santhai 2022 · $53k Gehenna 2024 · $47k Lost in the World of Succubi 2025 · $28k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sakura Gozen $16.99 320 96% 9.6k $163k (exactly $163,104) kaniheadcrab
Bikini Armour Explorers older $15.99 150 67% 4.5k $72k (exactly $71,955) Kiralice Sha
Santhai older $12.99 137 89% 4.1k $53k (exactly $53,389) Hardworker Studio, Rachan Neamprasert
Gehenna $19.99 78 79% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Kemuriya
Lost in the World of Succubi $13.99 66 81% 2.0k $28k (exactly $27,700) Shimofumi-ya
SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist $14.99 56 78% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) WODAN,Inc.
DOOMER'S ADVENTURE older $9.99 64 85% 1.9k $19k (exactly $19,181) deadworld games
JustAxe older $10.99 53 73% 1.6k $17k (exactly $17,474) Supergalactiс Gamedev
Abnormal Status ~Tattoo / Prohibited Books / Parasites~ older $13.99 40 62% 1.2k $17k (exactly $16,788) Octopig
Forbidden Ground - Lair of Aooni - $10.99 47 48% 1.4k $15k (exactly $15,496) HYDE, Inc.
Castle of Vania $10.99 35 48% 1.1k $12k (exactly $11,540) Succubus Factory
Nightfall Empress $14.99 19 84% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) SEEP
Duck N Roll $6.99 30 96% 900 $6.3k (exactly $6,291) GoldPumpkin Inc.
Neon Sunset $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Gamesforgames
Sombra $5.99 14 92% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) SytoDev

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