Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Word Game

Of 112 developers who shipped a Word Game 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.. 142 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×236 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 142 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 142 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 112
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.2k → $479 → $624 → $807 → $3.0k → $1.6k → $629 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 112
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $8.9k (exactly $8,880)
Top 5% $112k (exactly $112,125)
Developers, 2 yr 112
Released games 282
Announced 142
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 40% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Word Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Interactive Fiction
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 10,208 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $780, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 142 games are announced against 77 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

月に寄りそう乙女の作法 2022 · $4.2M 候鸟 2023 · $1.2M 灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 2025 · $1.1M Aonatsu Line 2022 · $676k Clover Day's Plus 2023 · $600k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
月に寄りそう乙女の作法 older $39.99 3,462 97% 104k $4.2M (exactly $4,153,361) Navel
候鸟 older $10.99 3,674 97% 110k $1.2M (exactly $1,211,318) KIDFansClub
灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 $9.99 3,682 90% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) 莓夜工作室
Aonatsu Line older $34.99 644 91% 19k $676k (exactly $676,007) GIGA, Entergram
Clover Day's Plus older $34.99 572 94% 17k $600k (exactly $600,428) ALcot
Yoshiwara Higanbana older $44.99 425 90% 13k $574k (exactly $573,622) MariaCrown
V-LOVER! $10.99 1,439 89% 43k $474k (exactly $474,438) Hentopia
Voice Love on Air older $29.99 526 86% 16k $473k (exactly $473,242) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT, Noisy Fish
Lost Words: Beyond the Page older $14.99 637 94% 19k $286k (exactly $286,459) Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State,… (Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State, Sketchbook Games)
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
错过的暑假可以放第二次吗？ $6.99 1,229 99% 37k $258k (exactly $257,721) 麻溜完结制作组
女儿国的诅咒 The Curse of Womanland $9.99 501 96% 15k $150k (exactly $150,150) 符离游戏（FuliGames）
我的时光：大学日记 $13.99 340 25% 10k $143k (exactly $142,698) WaterWood Studio
Our Brief Eternity $4.99 749 99% 22k $112k (exactly $112,125) 土豆花制作组
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
Under the River $5.99 485 95% 15k $87k (exactly $87,154) 夜火游戏（Night Fire Game）
TOUQI $4.99 462 89% 14k $69k (exactly $69,161) 橙光游戏
Paper Bride 7 Lethal Bond $9.99 218 92% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) HeartBeat Plus

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