Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Survival game?

Survival + 2D Platformer

Of 147 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Survival 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.. 164 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 91 developers shipped in the last year and 164 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 164 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 147
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $180 → $359 → $119 → $898 → $479 → $89 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 147
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $11,692)
Developers, 2 yr 147
Released games 479
Announced 164
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 down 55% on the market, supply 65% 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.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Strategy
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 9,238 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 $150, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 75 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 164 games are announced against 91 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival 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
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
Spiritfall older $19.99 1,844 92% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,105,847) Gentle Giant
Cluckmech Oasis older $9.99 3,077 87% 92k $922k (exactly $922,177) BlackLight
Knock-knock older $9.99 1,604 88% 48k $481k (exactly $480,719) Ice-Pick Lodge
Disc Room older $14.99 957 92% 29k $430k (exactly $430,363) Terri, Dose, Kitty, JW
Nope Nope Nurses older $19.99 629 77% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Dark One!
Blood Money: Lethal Eden $8.99 1,262 91% 38k $340k (exactly $340,361) 碧火互娱
KamiYaba: Destiny on a Dicey Deadline older $24.99 386 91% 12k $289k (exactly $289,384) HULOTTE
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
Immortal Farmer: System’s Mandate · EA $4.99 297 68% 8.9k $44k (exactly $44,461) oyogame
Cavern Adventurers $8.99 117 48% 3.5k $32k (exactly $31,555) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Thunder Tank: Iron Shield $3.99 221 82% 6.6k $26k (exactly $26,454) Crazy Studio
Sausage Hunter · EA $4.99 125 88% 3.8k $19k (exactly $18,712) Banger Chasers
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
Whispers in the Forest · EA $16.99 17 64% 510 $8.7k (exactly $8,665) Atzi Games Team

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