Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Space

Of 174 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 236 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 93 developers shipped in the last year and 236 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 236 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 174
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $598 → $239 → $539 → $119 → $539 → $299 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 174
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $270 (exactly $270)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 5% $40k (exactly $39,580)
Developers, 2 yr 174
Released games 561
Announced 236
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 100% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
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 89% positive over 2,609 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $39k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 102 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 236 games are announced against 93 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R 2023 · $4.8M VVVVVV 2010 · $997k Bionic Bay 2025 · $450k Space Simulation Toolkit 2020 · EA · $375k Stellar Code 2025 · $336k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R older $49.99 3,229 92% 97k $4.8M (exactly $4,842,531) Square Enix, Gemdrops, Inc.
VVVVVV older $4.99 6,657 96% 200k $997k (exactly $996,553) Terry Cavanagh
Bionic Bay $19.99 750 84% 23k $450k (exactly $449,775) Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy
Space Simulation Toolkit · EA older $24.99 500 80% 15k $375k (exactly $374,850) Pavel Kudinov
Stellar Code $24.98 448 97% 13k $336k (exactly $335,731) Fragaria
GRADIUS ORIGINS $39.99 241 92% 7.2k $289k (exactly $289,128) KONAMI, M2 Co.,LTD
Nyan Cat: Lost In Space older $4.99 1,640 93% 49k $246k (exactly $245,508) isTom Games Kft.
They Always Run older $9.99 770 78% 23k $231k (exactly $230,769) Alawar
Xeodrifter older $9.99 738 75% 22k $221k (exactly $221,179) Atooi
RIVE older $14.99 468 83% 14k $210k (exactly $210,460) Two Tribes
Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection $19.99 216 84% 6.5k $130k (exactly $129,535) Limited Run Games
Somber Echoes $14.99 271 81% 8.1k $122k (exactly $121,869) Rock Pocket Games, Lav Games
Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening $24.99 119 77% 3.6k $89k (exactly $89,214) Magic Pockets
ROLLING STAR $11.99 216 96% 6.5k $78k (exactly $77,695) NUL2 STUDIO
Derelict Star $9.99 155 94% 4.7k $46k (exactly $46,454) gate
Adventure of Samsara $19.99 66 89% 2.0k $40k (exactly $39,580) Ilex Games
This Is No Cave $6.99 127 96% 3.8k $27k (exactly $26,632) monome.studio

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