Do I ship it?

GamesSimulationSimulation + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Simulation game?

Simulation + 2D Platformer

Of 414 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Simulation game 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.. 429 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $89. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 429 games are announced against 247 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 429 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Simulation + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 414
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $629 → $838 → $657 → $599 → $748 → $629 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Simulation + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 414
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,823)
Top 5% $102k (exactly $101,959)
Developers, 2 yr 414
Released games 1,131
Announced 429
Effort 5 / 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 up 45% on the market, supply 40% more developers than 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Simulation, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
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 92% positive over 29,853 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 240 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 429 games are announced against 247 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds150 devs · median $55k · 81 announced
  2. + Escape RoomStrong odds36 devs · median $3.6k · 26 announced
  3. + World War IFair23 devs · median $32k · 32 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair285 devs · median $12k · 362 announced
  5. + LGBTQ+Fair272 devs · median $9.7k · 303 announced
  6. + PinballFair27 devs · median $8.2k · 28 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair672 devs · median $5.1k · 754 announced
  8. + BirdsFair19 devs · median $3.8k · 16 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair387 devs · median $3.0k · 490 announced
  10. + MusicFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 92 announced
  11. + Auto BattlerFair219 devs · median $2.5k · 293 announced
  12. + ProgrammingFair132 devs · median $2.2k · 174 announced

All 287 pairs on the Simulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rain World older $24.99 46,871 94% 1.4M $35M (exactly $35,139,189) Videocult
觅长生 older $14.99 27,072 93% 812k $12M (exactly $12,174,278) Chalcedony Network
Door Kickers: Action Squad older $13.99 8,778 95% 263k $3.7M (exactly $3,684,127) PixelShard, KillHouse Games
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo older $19.99 6,123 95% 184k $3.7M (exactly $3,671,963) Square Enix
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch older $15.99 6,660 86% 200k $3.2M (exactly $3,194,802) TiGames
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
We Need To Go Deeper older $15.99 4,652 86% 140k $2.2M (exactly $2,231,564) Deli Interactive LLC
Aeruta $19.99 2,391 94% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) FromDawn Games
Castlevania Anniversary Collection older $19.99 1,798 80% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,078,261) KONAMI
PLATiNA :: LAB $19.99 1,780 50% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466) HIGH-END Games
The Censor DX Edition $17.99 1,467 82% 44k $792k (exactly $791,740) Tiramisu, Big S Studio
Kemono Teatime $12.99 1,617 95% 49k $630k (exactly $630,145) Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU
Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon $14.99 1,397 70% 42k $628k (exactly $628,231) Art Thieves
AIR $29.99 639 98% 19k $575k (exactly $574,908) VISUAL ARTS/Key
Taiwan Love Story⁵ $17.99 939 84% 28k $507k (exactly $506,778) 快樂怪物, 紳士吉娃, Maker製造機
V-LOVER! $10.99 1,439 89% 43k $474k (exactly $474,438) Hentopia
FLAM EVAW $9.99 1,378 95% 41k $413k (exactly $412,987) 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司

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