Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP 2D Platformer?

PvP + 2D Platformer

Of 195 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 325 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 119 developers shipped in the last year and 325 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 325 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 195
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $1.3k → $598 → $119 → $599 → $390 → $539 (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 195
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Top 5% $37k (exactly $37,409)
Developers, 2 yr 195
Released games 641
Announced 325
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 27%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.00 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Funny, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.00 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 12,099 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $450, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $37k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 104 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 325 games are announced against 119 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
Spelunky 2 older $19.99 19,736 93% 592k $12M (exactly $11,835,679) Mossmouth, BlitWorks
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Super Bunny Man older $14.99 10,143 85% 304k $4.6M (exactly $4,561,307) Catobyte
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 older $49.99 1,013 81% 30k $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) Fair Play Labs
Salt and Sacrifice older $19.99 1,738 62% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,042,279) Devoured Studios, Ska Studios
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII GLOBAL MATCH $19.99 562 55% 17k $337k (exactly $337,031) SAFARI GAMES
Level Devil $6.99 1,304 91% 39k $273k (exactly $273,449) Unept
Smack Talk $5.99 867 96% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) Monchii Studio
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed $9.99 447 55% 13k $134k (exactly $133,966) Fair Play Labs
Falling with Ice Phoenix! $9.99 300 92% 9.0k $90k (exactly $89,910) F Project
IGS Classic Arcade Collection $29.99 94 60% 2.8k $85k (exactly $84,572) IGS(台灣鈊象電子)
Knock'Em Out $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) BBear Studio
Royalty Free-For-All $11.99 104 86% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) AAAA Games, LLC

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