Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 119 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 145 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $64k, ×136 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 145 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 285% on the market, 145 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 119
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $539 → $748 → $539 → $539 → $419 → $1.5k → $2.2k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 119
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $597 (exactly $597)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,997)
Top 5% $64k (exactly $64,474)
Developers, 2 yr 119
Released games 461
Announced 145
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 285% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 3,191 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $64k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 145 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef 2022 · $1.6M Contra: Operation Galuga 2024 · $972k Alex Jones: NWO Wars 2024 · $930k Contra Anniversary Collection 2019 · $717k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Contra: Operation Galuga older $39.99 810 87% 24k $972k (exactly $971,757) WayForward
Alex Jones: NWO Wars older $17.76 1,745 92% 52k $930k (exactly $929,736) NWO Wars Team
Contra Anniversary Collection older $19.99 1,196 76% 36k $717k (exactly $717,241) KONAMI
Downwell older $2.99 7,891 96% 237k $708k (exactly $707,823) Moppin
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
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
GRADIUS ORIGINS $39.99 241 92% 7.2k $289k (exactly $289,128) KONAMI, M2 Co.,LTD
Missing Banban $9.99 294 92% 8.8k $88k (exactly $88,112) Simon Carny
SONIC WINGS REUNION $59.99 46 60% 1.4k $83k (exactly $82,786) SUCCESS Corp.
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted $24.99 86 81% 2.6k $64k (exactly $64,474) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
Future Knight $14.99 115 98% 3.5k $52k (exactly $51,716) Studio Koba, Aeternum Game Studios
Super Roboy $14.99 109 93% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Vincent Penning
Haunted Lands $5.99 251 77% 7.5k $45k (exactly $45,105) alevgor

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