Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Puzzle

Of 635 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 826 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 357 developers shipped in the last year and 826 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 826 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 635
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $505 → $598 → $599 → $535 → $239 → $300 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 635
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.0k (exactly $1,973)
Top 5% $38k (exactly $38,191)
Developers, 2 yr 635
Released games 2,225
Announced 826
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 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle Platformer, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 40,301 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $38k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 389 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 826 games are announced against 357 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

INSIDE 2016 · $52M BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M Trine 2: Complete Story 2013 · $9.2M Trine Enchanted Edition 2009 · $5.8M Planet of Lana 2023 · $5.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
INSIDE older $24.99 69,791 97% 2.1M $52M (exactly $52,322,313) Playdead
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Trine 2: Complete Story older $19.99 15,273 95% 458k $9.2M (exactly $9,159,218) Frozenbyte
Trine Enchanted Edition older $14.99 12,843 95% 385k $5.8M (exactly $5,775,497) Frozenbyte
Planet of Lana older $19.99 9,609 92% 288k $5.8M (exactly $5,762,517) Wishfully
Neva $19.99 9,343 93% 280k $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) Nomada Studio
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
Thank Goodness You're Here! older $19.99 7,742 96% 232k $4.6M (exactly $4,642,877) Coal Supper
Webbed older $9.99 13,820 97% 415k $4.1M (exactly $4,141,854) Sbug Games
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered older $19.99 6,584 95% 198k $3.9M (exactly $3,948,425) Klei Entertainment
ANTONBLAST $19.99 3,943 95% 118k $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) Summitsphere
Threefold Recital $14.99 5,117 98% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) Everscape Games
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
Train45 $10.99 3,823 97% 115k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,443) Elniko
Darwin's Paradox! $24.99 843 87% 25k $632k (exactly $631,997) ZDT Studio
Planet of Lana II $19.99 875 91% 26k $525k (exactly $524,738) Wishfully
Mind Over Magnet $9.99 1,344 89% 40k $403k (exactly $402,797) Game Maker's Toolkit
Level Devil $6.99 1,304 91% 39k $273k (exactly $273,449) Unept

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