Games › 3D Platformer › 3D Platformer + Exploration
Should I ship an Exploration 3D Platformer?
3D Platformer + Exploration
Of 638 developers who shipped an Exploration 3D 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.. 1,198 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×585 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 1,198 games are announced against 326 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $8.3k (exactly $8,266) |
| Top 5% | $368k (exactly $367,616) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 638 |
| Released games | 1,904 |
| Announced | 1,198 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 3D Platformer
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 3D Platformer, Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Platformer
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 54,105 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 417 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,198 games are announced against 326 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
3D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + TransportationFair
- + MiningFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + GolfFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + SokobanFair
- + Survival HorrorFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + AutomationFair
- + OffroadLong shot
- + Looter ShooterLong shot
- + CatsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | A Hat in Time | older | $29.99 | 42,863 97% | 1.3M | $39M (exactly $38,563,841) | Gears for Breakfast |
| | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | $69.99 | 13,058 89% | 392k | $27M (exactly $27,417,883) | MachineGames | |
| | Sonic Frontiers | older | $39.99 | 22,701 90% | 681k | $27M (exactly $27,234,390) | Sonic Team |
| | Kena: Bridge of Spirits | older | $39.99 | 16,701 91% | 501k | $20M (exactly $20,036,190) | Ember Lab |
| | Mirror's Edge™ | older | $19.99 | 31,195 87% | 936k | $19M (exactly $18,707,642) | DICE |
| | Death's Door | older | $19.99 | 19,330 93% | 580k | $12M (exactly $11,592,201) | Acid Nerve |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
| | Viewfinder | older | $24.99 | 11,901 94% | 357k | $8.9M (exactly $8,922,180) | Sad Owl Studios |
| | Chained Together | older | $4.99 | 54,747 89% | 1.6M | $8.2M (exactly $8,195,626) | Anegar Games, Lab42 |
| | Haste | $19.99 | 12,690 92% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) | Landfall | |
| | Starsand Island | $39.99 | 5,898 76% | 177k | $7.1M (exactly $7,075,831) | Seed Sparkle Lab | |
| | Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game | $24.99 | 6,638 94% | 199k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,509) | MLMEDIA | |
| | My Little Puppy | $24.99 | 4,435 97% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,324,920) | Dreamotion Inc. | |
| | ScooterFlow | $19.99 | 3,975 95% | 119k | $2.4M (exactly $2,383,808) | UncannyKiwi Limited | |
| | Voidling Bound | $24.99 | 3,126 92% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,343,562) | Hatchery Games | |
| | Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed | $39.99 | 1,275 93% | 38k | $1.5M (exactly $1,529,618) | Purple Lamp | |
| | LEGO® Voyagers | $24.99 | 1,859 88% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) | Light Brick Studio | |
| | SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide | $39.99 | 1,151 93% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) | Purple Lamp |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.