Do I ship it?

Games › 3D Platformer › 3D Platformer + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological 3D Platformer?

3D Platformer + Psychological

Of 83 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 91 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $22k, ×36 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 91 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 91 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Platformer + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $3.9k → $809 → $1.9k → $1.3k → $899 → $450 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Platformer + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,591)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $22,305)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 179
Announced 91
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 down 50% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
3D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,842 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 $630, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 91 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

3D Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + TransportationFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  2. + MiningFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair36 devs · median $748 · 29 announced
  4. + GolfFair16 devs · median $719 · 16 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair44 devs · median $716 · 39 announced
  6. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  7. + Survival HorrorFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  8. + Perma DeathFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced
  9. + AutomationFair25 devs · median $450 · 21 announced
  10. + OffroadLong shot14 devs · median $478 · 12 announced
  11. + Looter ShooterLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  12. + CatsLong shot66 devs · median $420 · 74 announced

All 216 pairs on the 3D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Psychonauts 2 2021 · $22M Viewfinder 2023 · $8.9M Alice: Madness Returns 2011 · $8.3M Psychonauts 2006 · $3.7M Shady Part of Me 2020 · $1.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Psychonauts 2 older $59.99 12,333 95% 370k $22M (exactly $22,195,700) Double Fine Productions
Viewfinder older $24.99 11,901 94% 357k $8.9M (exactly $8,922,180) Sad Owl Studios
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
Psychonauts older $9.99 12,343 95% 370k $3.7M (exactly $3,699,197) Double Fine Productions
Shady Part of Me older $14.99 2,554 93% 77k $1.1M (exactly $1,148,534) Douze Dixièmes
September 7th older $6.99 2,739 87% 82k $574k (exactly $574,368) EMIKA_GAMES
Papo & Yo older $14.99 1,111 94% 33k $500k (exactly $499,617) Minority Media Inc.
Hyperbolica older $12.99 1,222 84% 37k $476k (exactly $476,213) CodeParade
VARLET $59.99 121 47% 3.6k $218k (exactly $217,764) FURYU CORPORATION
Father's Day older $6.99 1,034 86% 31k $217k (exactly $216,830) EMIKA_GAMES
Climb The Backrooms $4.99 1,013 81% 30k $152k (exactly $151,646) LovDEV
Dice Tavern: Farkle Roguelike $9.99 112 90% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,566) Cavi Studio
Evil Holiday $4.99 208 80% 6.2k $31k (exactly $31,138) REVVALUTION Studio
?? Movie Theater $4.99 149 97% 4.5k $22k (exactly $22,305) riinwin
3DMurderMystery TheAshenYou $18.99 38 73% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,649) ぐだぐだぶとん
OYASUMII $6.99 98 83% 2.9k $21k (exactly $20,551) NEO PROJECT Studios
1000 Deaths (Thousand Deaths) $14.99 33 87% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Pariah Interactive, Inc.
Platform $9.99 46 73% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) METAGAR
Saborus $14.99 24 58% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) High Room Studio

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