Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Sci-fi

Of 345 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 652 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×273 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 652 games are announced against 214 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 652 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 345
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $538 → $1.5k → $1.3k → $719 → $599 → $599 → $449 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 345
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $4.1k (exactly $4,126)
Top 5% $130k (exactly $129,535)
Developers, 2 yr 345
Released games 1,146
Announced 652
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 up 35% on the market, supply 55% 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
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 23,893 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $450, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 168 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 652 games are announced against 214 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different setting or mood, 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

Katana ZERO 2019 · $30M SANABI 2023 · $19M Planet of Lana 2023 · $5.8M REPLACED 2026 · $5.5M STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R 2023 · $4.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Katana ZERO older $14.99 66,341 97% 2.0M $30M (exactly $29,833,548) Askiisoft
SANABI older $14.99 41,700 97% 1.3M $19M (exactly $18,752,490) WONDER POTION
Planet of Lana older $19.99 9,609 92% 288k $5.8M (exactly $5,762,517) Wishfully
REPLACED $19.99 9,130 84% 274k $5.5M (exactly $5,475,261) Sad Cat Studios
STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R older $49.99 3,229 92% 97k $4.8M (exactly $4,842,531) Square Enix, Gemdrops, Inc.
ANNO: Mutationem older $24.99 5,833 80% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,373,000) ThinkingStars
Mega Man 11 older $29.99 4,312 89% 129k $3.9M (exactly $3,879,506) CAPCOM CO., LTD.
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
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
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
CYAN BRAIN $14.99 1,463 89% 44k $658k (exactly $657,911) NEKOUJI
Kemono Teatime $12.99 1,617 95% 49k $630k (exactly $630,145) Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Planet of Lana II $19.99 875 91% 26k $525k (exactly $524,738) Wishfully
Bionic Bay $19.99 750 84% 23k $450k (exactly $449,775) Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy

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