Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Top-Down Shooter 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter

Of 69 developers who shipped a Top-Down Shooter 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.. 46 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 37 developers shipped in the last year and 46 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 46 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 69
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60 → $1.3k → $386 → $179 → $597 → $210 → $60 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 69
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $657 (exactly $657)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,940)
Developers, 2 yr 69
Released games 184
Announced 46
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 55% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Top-Down Shooter
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, Top-Down Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, 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 85% positive over 1,570 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $650, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different second tag, 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

Cluckmech Oasis 2024 · $922k METAL GEAR & METAL GEAR 2: Solid Snake 2023 · $465k The Shadow of Yidhra 2021 · $447k Disc Room 2020 · $430k Dinotica 2026 · $403k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cluckmech Oasis older $9.99 3,077 87% 92k $922k (exactly $922,177) BlackLight
METAL GEAR & METAL GEAR 2: Solid Snake older $19.99 775 83% 23k $465k (exactly $464,767) KONAMI
The Shadow of Yidhra older $10.99 1,355 89% 41k $447k (exactly $446,744) WhitePeach
Disc Room older $14.99 957 92% 29k $430k (exactly $430,363) Terri, Dose, Kitty, JW
Dinotica $17.99 746 86% 22k $403k (exactly $402,616) XA Studio
Ares Virus2 older $18.99 412 64% 12k $235k (exactly $234,716) 热区网络
METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1 BONUS CONTENT older $59.99 125 63% 3.8k $225k (exactly $224,962) KONAMI
Black Market of Bulletphilia ~ 100th Black Market. older $14.99 477 83% 14k $215k (exactly $214,507) 上海アリス幻樂団
Maid of the Dead older $19.99 136 81% 4.1k $82k (exactly $81,559) qureate, IXILL LLC.
Like Dreamer older $13.99 166 100% 5.0k $70k (exactly $69,670) あうとさいど
Mamorukun ReCurse! $24.99 56 94% 1.7k $42k (exactly $41,983) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
Deadland Garden $3.99 200 92% 6.0k $24k (exactly $23,940) Ronin SoftWork
Ride The Dragon: The Awakening of the Dragon Tamer $10.99 41 56% 1.2k $14k (exactly $13,518) Matariki Studios Co., Ltd
Z-GYUBAAN! $9.99 16 68% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Yogurt Neko
HougekiShoujo $3.99 19 89% 570 $2.3k (exactly $2,274) チーム魔愚路, TeamMAGURO
ARONDIGHT アロンダイト $5.99 10 80% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) COPIKAL
Necromancer's Revenge · EA $4.99 12 0% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) GPG
Chaotic Cats $3.99 12 100% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Headbounce

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