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Should I ship a 2D Platformer Space Sim?
Space Sim + 2D Platformer
Of 25 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Space Sim 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.. 15 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 15 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $270 (exactly $270) |
| Top 25% | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 5% | $13k (exactly $12,946) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 15 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 140% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Space Sim
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- 2D Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Space Sim, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Strategy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 2.5D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 463 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Space Simulation Toolkit | · EA older | $24.99 | 500 80% | 15k | $375k (exactly $374,850) | Pavel Kudinov |
| | Planet Lust | $14.99 | 335 76% | 10k | $151k (exactly $150,650) | Skullgear | |
| | 2D Neon Cube | older | $3.99 | 180 65% | 5.4k | $22k (exactly $21,546) | Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich |
| | Residual | older | $19.99 | 24 66% | 720 | $14k (exactly $14,393) | Orangepixel |
| | SCALEPLANET | older | $44.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $13k (exactly $13,497) | Scale Studio, Gamesforgames |
| | Final Frontier Story | $8.99 | 48 72% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $12,946) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | |
| | Droneboi: Conquest | older | $8.99 | 42 73% | 1.3k | $11k (exactly $11,327) | Rizen Planet Studios |
| | Space Killer | older | $7.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $11k (exactly $11,026) | Two friends, VIWESA GAMES |
| | Mecha Harem: Bonds of the Abyss | $9.99 | 34 73% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Morexingame | |
| | Man in gravity | older | $24.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $9.0k (exactly $8,996) | Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich |
| | Star Titans : War of the Galaxy | $14.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) | Mediawork | |
| | Civilization Survivor | $2.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | 缘码游戏工作室 | |
| | Gravity Drop | $6.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $839 (exactly $839) | Octopie Lab | |
| | Saturn Quest: The Loneliness Of Captain Navigator | $5.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $719 (exactly $719) | Arkhouse Telegraph | |
| | Infinite Evo TD | $4.99 | 4 25% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | Starchase Games | |
| | Shoulder-Mounted Space Program | $5.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $539 (exactly $539) | Aaron Moseley | |
| | Pocket Rocket | $2.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $538 (exactly $538) | Jazzcat games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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