Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Science

Of 21 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 40 more are announced, ×3.1 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 $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 13 developers shipped in the last year and 40 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 40 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $150 → $60 → $1.2k → $1.5k → $269 → $52k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 5% $450k (exactly $449,775)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 86
Announced 40
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 50% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Science
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 8,715 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

Mina the Hollower 2026 · $4.5M CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k Cyanotype Daydream -The Girl Who Dreamed the World- 2022 · $852k Bionic Bay 2025 · $450k Yars Rising 2024 · $189k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mina the Hollower $19.99 7,562 88% 227k $4.5M (exactly $4,534,931) Yacht Club Games
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Cyanotype Daydream -The Girl Who Dreamed the World- older $39.99 710 88% 21k $852k (exactly $851,787) Laplacian
Bionic Bay $19.99 750 84% 23k $450k (exactly $449,775) Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy
Yars Rising older $29.99 210 81% 6.3k $189k (exactly $188,937) WayForward
The Multi-Medium older $6.99 525 96% 16k $110k (exactly $110,092) Micah Boursier
Exographer $19.99 124 94% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) SciFunGames
Snacktorio $7.99 215 90% 6.5k $52k (exactly $51,536) ellraiser
Mechanic Miner older $7.99 173 53% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,468) Hello John
Beam older $18.99 38 86% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,649) Binary Impact
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Divider Dave $7.99 18 94% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Louis Vidal 'Pignomaster', José-Manuel… (Louis Vidal 'Pignomaster', José-Manuel Girona 'Gringo_Charlatan')
黒歴史ファイターズ $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) ジェッドム
Faunamorph $9.99 5 40% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Marangon Productions
Proton & Electron $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) ElectronLab
Delta 78: The Passenger $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Kaioyllan

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