Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Underwater

Of 26 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 39 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 39 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $9.1k → $3.4k → $299 → $59
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $597 (exactly $597)
Top 5% $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 68
Announced 39
Effort 5 / 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Underwater
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Platformer, Action
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 123 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 $590, 1 in 20 over $4.3k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

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

We Need To Go Deeper 2019 · $2.2M Pronty 2021 · $584k Koral 2019 · $165k Lumione 2021 · $150k Pool Slide Story 2022 · $64k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
We Need To Go Deeper older $15.99 4,652 86% 140k $2.2M (exactly $2,231,564) Deli Interactive LLC
Pronty older $17.99 1,082 91% 32k $584k (exactly $583,955) 18Light Game Ltd., FunZone Games
Koral older $14.99 366 81% 11k $165k (exactly $164,590) Carlos Coronado
Lumione older $11.99 418 73% 13k $150k (exactly $150,355) Glimmer Studio
Pool Slide Story older $10.99 194 90% 5.8k $64k (exactly $63,962) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Tropical Resort Story older $10.99 181 87% 5.4k $60k (exactly $59,676) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
The Sirena Expedition older $5.99 135 82% 4.1k $24k (exactly $24,260) Giraffe Cat
Below The Ocean older $5.99 129 99% 3.9k $23k (exactly $23,181) Ismael Rodriguez
Fantasy Fishing Town older $6.99 81 77% 2.4k $17k (exactly $16,986) RainbowStudio
WhaleGameOnline · EA older $2.99 101 92% 3.0k $9.1k (exactly $9,060) NekokujiraLab
Goldfish $14.99 10 80% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Gabry Corti
Upstream $7.99 18 100% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Gllama Games
The Hookmarine $5.99 24 100% 720 $4.3k (exactly $4,313) Elendow
Don't Drown $4.99 23 100% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) Snoutical
AquaDream $4.99 18 100% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) Gossiam Games
The Squirrel & Sea $7.99 7 85% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) mite_j
My Rusty Submarine - New Waters $1.99 10 100% 300 $597 (exactly $597) Sørb
IDLE PET UFO $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) 電脳鈴木組
Ancient Ocean: The Fall of Atlantis $3.99 4 100% 120 $479 (exactly $479) Ancient Ocean Games
Big Fish $4.99 3 66% 90 $449 (exactly $449) TOQ Games

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