Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + 3D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE 3D Platformer?

PvE + 3D Platformer

Of 189 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 342 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 105 developers shipped in the last year and 342 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 342 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + 3D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 189
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $748 → $599 → $419 → $359 → $450 → $419 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + 3D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 189
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $360 (exactly $360)
Top 25% $2.6k (exactly $2,633)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $93,600)
Developers, 2 yr 189
Released games 528
Announced 342
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 80% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, 3D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 42,051 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $93k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 124 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 342 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M ATLYSS 2024 · EA · $5.8M Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash 2024 · $5.5M Voidling Bound 2026 · $2.3M IfSunSets 2024 · EA · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
ATLYSS · EA $9.99 19,244 96% 577k $5.8M (exactly $5,767,427) Kiseff
Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash older $59.99 3,051 60% 92k $5.5M (exactly $5,490,885) Byking Inc.
Voidling Bound $24.99 3,126 92% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,343,562) Hatchery Games
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Animal Company · EA $19.99 749 86% 22k $449k (exactly $449,175) Wooster Games
Asterix & Obelix XXL: Romastered older $19.99 708 78% 21k $425k (exactly $424,588) OSome Studio
HOTEL BARCELONA $29.99 269 71% 8.1k $242k (exactly $242,019) White Owls Inc.
Voodoo Fishin' · EA $9.99 800 81% 24k $240k (exactly $239,760) Lost Arcade
PIT OF GOBLIN · EA $5.99 915 84% 27k $164k (exactly $164,426) Friendly Foe
BURGGEIST $12.00 260 97% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,600) GHRIAN STUDIO

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