Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Rhythm

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Rhythm 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Rhythm

Of 59 developers who shipped a Rhythm 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.. 68 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 33 developers shipped in the last year and 68 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 68 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Rhythm
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $1.3k → $250 → $3.0k → $416 → $240 → $356 (still earning) → $59 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Rhythm: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 207
Announced 68
Effort 3 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply 20% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Rhythm
effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Rhythm; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 7,413 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY 2025 · $1.9M Ratatan 2025 · EA · $1.8M PLATiNA :: LAB 2026 · $1.1M Electronic Super Joy 2013 · $592k One Hand Clapping 2021 · $394k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY $29.99 2,091 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) SAS CO.,LTD.
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
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
A Highland Song older $17.99 553 87% 17k $298k (exactly $298,454) inkle Ltd
MOMO Crash $12.00 707 89% 21k $255k (exactly $254,520) SKOOTA GAMES
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
Rap Pop Jump Core older $29.99 91 89% 2.7k $82k (exactly $81,873) Galactic Geckon
ION Shift $5.99 140 90% 4.2k $25k (exactly $25,158) Electro Soul Games
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
Sex Beats $9.99 62 77% 1.9k $19k (exactly $18,581) Naku Kinoko
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
泳装乱舞 $3.99 95 75% 2.9k $11k (exactly $11,372) 1v1combat
Soulbound Roguelike $9.99 34 82% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) DuDu Games

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