Games › 3D Platformer › 3D Platformer + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery 3D Platformer?
3D Platformer + Mystery
Of 184 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 284 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×185 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 284 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $480 (exactly $480) |
| Top 25% | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) |
| Top 5% | $116k (exactly $116,204) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 184 |
| Released games | 506 |
| Announced | 284 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 3D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 6,722 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 113 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 284 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
3D Platformer with a different setting or mood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kena: Bridge of Spirits | older | $39.99 | 16,701 91% | 501k | $20M (exactly $20,036,190) | Ember Lab |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
| | Chained Together | older | $4.99 | 54,747 89% | 1.6M | $8.2M (exactly $8,195,626) | Anegar Games, Lab42 |
| | Exo One | older | $16.99 | 5,053 89% | 152k | $2.6M (exactly $2,575,514) | Exbleative |
| | Caravan SandWitch | older | $24.99 | 2,797 88% | 84k | $2.1M (exactly $2,096,911) | Studio Plane Toast |
| | Contrast | older | $9.99 | 4,548 90% | 136k | $1.4M (exactly $1,363,036) | Compulsion Games |
| | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
| | SHUTEN ORDER | $49.99 | 712 80% | 21k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) | Neilo Inc. | |
| | SLUDGE LIFE | older | $14.99 | 1,900 95% | 57k | $854k (exactly $854,430) | Terri Vellmann, Doseone |
| | ALTF4 | older | $2.99 | 9,452 80% | 284k | $848k (exactly $847,844) | PUMPKIM |
| | Gecko Gods | $19.99 | 629 96% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Inresin | |
| | Europa | $14.99 | 778 85% | 23k | $350k (exactly $349,867) | Helder Pinto, Chozabu (Alex PB), Novadu… (Helder Pinto, Chozabu (Alex PB), Novadust Entertainment) | |
| | Winion Virus | $10.99 | 980 94% | 29k | $323k (exactly $323,106) | Dawntown Studio | |
| | Hypogea | $9.99 | 817 97% | 25k | $245k (exactly $244,855) | Charlie Wagner | |
| | Zefyr: A Thief's Melody | $19.99 | 401 96% | 12k | $240k (exactly $240,480) | Oneiric Worlds | |
| | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
| | Pieces of me | $8.99 | 594 87% | 18k | $160k (exactly $160,202) | EMIKA_GAMES | |
| | Gloomy Eyes | $24.99 | 155 94% | 4.7k | $116k (exactly $116,204) | Atlas V, Be Revolution Gaming, 3Dar, Fi… (Atlas V, Be Revolution Gaming, 3Dar, Fishing Cactus, ARTE France) |
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.