Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Thriller

Of 37 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 40 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $65k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 40 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 40 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $748 → $2.7k → $538 → $3.0k → $1.0k → $449 (still earning) → $4.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,573)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,335)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 86
Announced 40
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 60% on the market, supply 65% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Puzzle
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 2,346 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $600, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M INMOST 2020 · $2.7M Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo 2021 · $2.4M Creepy Tale 2020 · $356k Blood Money: Lethal Eden 2026 · $340k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
INMOST older $14.99 5,928 90% 178k $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) Hidden Layer Games
Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo older $29.99 2,718 95% 82k $2.4M (exactly $2,445,385) ωstar, Seikei Production
Creepy Tale older $4.99 2,378 87% 71k $356k (exactly $355,987) Creepy Brothers
Blood Money: Lethal Eden $8.99 1,262 91% 38k $340k (exactly $340,361) 碧火互娱
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
Lakeview Cabin 2 older $13.99 542 96% 16k $227k (exactly $227,477) Roope Tamminen
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love older $9.99 547 77% 16k $164k (exactly $163,936) HeartBeat Plus
雪之本境S Conspiracy Field: Snow Trap older $6.99 531 66% 16k $111k (exactly $111,351) SP-time
Terror At Oakheart older $7.99 274 85% 8.2k $66k (exactly $65,678) Tainted Pact
Paper Bride 7 Lethal Bond $9.99 218 92% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) HeartBeat Plus
Graces: Posthumous Wish $7.99 187 93% 5.6k $45k (exactly $44,824) TomoToro
Scourge of the village $7.99 172 70% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) Triangel Game
妄生 - Wandering Souls · EA $9.99 73 86% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,878) GOCORE
Xi $1.99 248 89% 7.4k $15k (exactly $14,806) HHGame
灵童 $8.99 54 62% 1.6k $15k (exactly $14,564) Taolizhixia Studio
Kejora $17.99 26 76% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) Berangin Creative
Curse or Love $4.49 84 90% 2.5k $11k (exactly $11,315) 小橘子糖_official
Concierge $12.99 22 100% 660 $8.6k (exactly $8,573) KODINO

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