Games › Strategy › Strategy + 2D Platformer
Should I ship a 2D Platformer Strategy game?
Strategy + 2D Platformer
Of 534 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Strategy 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.. 563 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $200 in the last 2 years and $210 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 316 developers shipped in the last year and 563 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $200 (exactly $200) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 5% | $50k (exactly $50,000) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 534 |
| Released games | 1,504 |
| Announced | 563 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- 2D Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 33,336 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 282 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 563 games are announced against 316 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
觅长生 2023 · $12M 
UFO 50 2024 · $5.3M 
Braid 2009 · $3.1M 
Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M 
Cluckmech Oasis 2024 · $922k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 觅长生 | older | $14.99 | 27,072 93% | 812k | $12M (exactly $12,174,278) | Chalcedony Network |
| | UFO 50 | $24.99 | 7,134 94% | 214k | $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) | Mossmouth | |
| | Braid | older | $14.99 | 6,941 93% | 208k | $3.1M (exactly $3,121,368) | Number None |
| | Shelldiver | $4.99 | 16,806 98% | 504k | $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) | Gagonfe | |
| | Cluckmech Oasis | older | $9.99 | 3,077 87% | 92k | $922k (exactly $922,177) | BlackLight |
 | 再刷一把2：金色传说 | $9.99 | 2,748 44% | 82k | $824k (exactly $823,576) | 滑稽工作室 | |
 | 英雄群侠传II | older | $11.99 | 2,103 88% | 63k | $756k (exactly $756,449) | 熊窝dodox |
 | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | Actraiser Renaissance | older | $29.99 | 708 74% | 21k | $637k (exactly $636,988) | Square Enix, Sonic Powered |
 | Shovel Knight Dig | older | $24.99 | 822 75% | 25k | $616k (exactly $616,253) | Nitrome, Yacht Club Games |
 | Dinotica | $17.99 | 746 86% | 22k | $403k (exactly $402,616) | XA Studio | |
 | The Three Kingdoms: The Tales of Jian An | $17.99 | 690 88% | 21k | $372k (exactly $372,393) | 开翼网络 | |
 | Trainee Death Simulator | $5.99 | 1,746 92% | 52k | $314k (exactly $313,756) | Bone Nail | |
 | 緋月仙行錄 | $19.99 | 454 57% | 14k | $272k (exactly $272,264) | 月光草 | |
 | 吞食天地之乱舞三国 | $13.99 | 271 92% | 8.1k | $114k (exactly $113,739) | FC Maker | |
 | 黯渊崛起：魔灵深渊 | $7.30 | 508 80% | 15k | $111k (exactly $111,252) | 攸缘游戏 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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