Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Score Attack

Of 241 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 197 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 136 developers shipped in the last year and 197 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 197 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 241
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $539 → $748 → $535 → $657 → $359 → $359 → $449 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 241
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 5% $29k (exactly $28,790)
Developers, 2 yr 241
Released games 701
Announced 197
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 30% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 18,869 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 $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $28k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 126 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 197 games are announced against 136 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS 2024 · $18M ANTONBLAST 2024 · $2.4M Wuppo: Definitive Edition 2016 · $2.2M Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection 2021 · $1.2M Electronic Super Joy 2013 · $592k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS $49.99 12,178 96% 365k $18M (exactly $18,263,347) Sonic Team
ANTONBLAST $19.99 3,943 95% 118k $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) Summitsphere
Wuppo: Definitive Edition older $14.99 4,949 94% 148k $2.2M (exactly $2,225,565) snekflat
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection older $29.99 1,306 74% 39k $1.2M (exactly $1,175,008) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Electronic Super Joy older $7.99 2,471 89% 74k $592k (exactly $592,299) Michael Todd Games
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
pureya older $5.99 2,242 96% 67k $403k (exactly $402,887) Majorariatto
DEVIL BLADE REBOOT older $15.99 827 98% 25k $397k (exactly $396,712) SHIGATAKE GAMES
Dustforce DX older $9.99 1,214 93% 36k $364k (exactly $363,836) Hitbox Team
BZZZT older $11.99 952 93% 29k $342k (exactly $342,434) KO.DLL
MOMO Crash $12.00 707 89% 21k $255k (exactly $254,520) SKOOTA GAMES
Double Dragon Revive $34.99 157 63% 4.7k $165k (exactly $164,803) YUKE’S
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Myths are 100% True $14.99 184 100% 5.5k $83k (exactly $82,745) LeatherIceCream, ClayGod
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 1+2 Dual Collection $29.99 51 74% 1.5k $46k (exactly $45,885) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star

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