Do I ship it?

Games2D Platformer2D Platformer + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Precision Platformer 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Precision Platformer

Of 642 developers who shipped a Precision Platformer 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.. 768 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $24k, ×52 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 768 games are announced against 341 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 768 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 642
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $538 → $598 → $748 → $597 → $449 → $419 (still earning) → $105 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 642
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 5% $25k (exactly $24,547)
Developers, 2 yr 642
Released games 2,099
Announced 768
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 down 10% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Precision 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Precision Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 10,727 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $24k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 378 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 768 games are announced against 341 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Celeste older $19.99 132,072 97% 4.0M $79M (exactly $79,203,578) Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Ga… (Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Games, Ltd.)
SANABI older $14.99 41,700 97% 1.3M $19M (exactly $18,752,490) WONDER POTION
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
BlazBlue Entropy Effect older $19.99 30,410 94% 912k $18M (exactly $18,236,877) 91Act
Super Meat Boy older $14.99 30,031 93% 901k $14M (exactly $13,504,941) Team Meat
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown older $29.99 6,754 84% 203k $6.1M (exactly $6,076,574) Ubisoft Montpellier
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Bread & Fred older $14.99 4,217 79% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,896,385) SandCastles Studio
The End Is Nigh older $14.99 3,291 93% 99k $1.5M (exactly $1,479,963) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
Ambidextro $7.99 1,334 98% 40k $320k (exactly $319,760) Majorariatto
Windswept $19.99 470 92% 14k $282k (exactly $281,859) WeatherFell
Level Devil $6.99 1,304 91% 39k $273k (exactly $273,449) Unept
Symphonia $19.99 325 88% 9.8k $195k (exactly $194,902) Sunny Peak
Shotgun Cop Man $9.99 633 96% 19k $190k (exactly $189,710) DeadToast Entertainment
Bat to the Heavens $14.99 407 95% 12k $183k (exactly $183,028) ceroro
TetherGeist $16.99 299 97% 9.0k $152k (exactly $152,400) O. and Co. Games, Out of Space Games
LOVE ETERNAL $9.99 453 96% 14k $136k (exactly $135,764) brlka

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