Games › 3D Platformer › 3D Platformer + Time Attack
Should I ship a Time Attack 3D Platformer?
3D Platformer + Time Attack
Of 25 developers who shipped a Time Attack 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.. 35 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 $180; 1 in 20 cleared $67k, ×107 the market median. Revenue is up 620% on the market; 35 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Top 25% | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 5% | $67k (exactly $67,455) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 80 |
| Announced | 35 |
| 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 up 620% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Time Attack
- 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, Time Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Arcade
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Fast-Paced, Stylized
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,284 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
Mirror's Edge™ 2009 · $19M 
Hot Lava 2019 · $3.2M 
Cyber Hook 2020 · $1.4M 
Penny’s Big Breakaway 2024 · $955k 
Marble It Up! Ultra 2018 · $954k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mirror's Edge™ | older | $19.99 | 31,195 87% | 936k | $19M (exactly $18,707,642) | DICE |
| | Hot Lava | older | $19.99 | 5,335 92% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,199,399) | Klei Entertainment |
| | Cyber Hook | older | $14.99 | 3,102 95% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,394,969) | Blazing Stick |
| | Penny’s Big Breakaway | older | $29.99 | 1,062 79% | 32k | $955k (exactly $955,481) | Evening Star |
| | Marble It Up! Ultra | older | $29.99 | 1,060 93% | 32k | $954k (exactly $953,682) | Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes an… (Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes and Lines, Arcturus Interactive, The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild) |
 | Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom | older | $16.99 | 1,621 97% | 49k | $826k (exactly $826,224) | Panik Arcade |
 | Super Meat Boy 3D | $24.99 | 828 87% | 25k | $621k (exactly $620,752) | Sluggerfly, Team Meat | |
 | EDGE | older | $6.99 | 1,826 92% | 55k | $383k (exactly $382,912) | Two Tribes |
 | Lovely Planet | older | $5.99 | 1,384 92% | 42k | $249k (exactly $248,705) | quicktequila |
 | Marble Skies | older | $9.99 | 253 82% | 7.6k | $76k (exactly $75,824) | [untitledDev] |
 | Hoverflow | $14.99 | 150 93% | 4.5k | $67k (exactly $67,455) | Simon In Motion | |
 | Ballest of Them All | · EA | $5.99 | 110 97% | 3.3k | $20k (exactly $19,767) | Low5ive, Action Jackson |
 | FZ: Formation Z | $29.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $14k (exactly $14,395) | Granzella Inc. | |
 | Caromble! | $12.99 | 34 73% | 1.0k | $13k (exactly $13,250) | Crimson Owl Studios | |
 | Ticking Together | $4.99 | 37 97% | 1.1k | $5.5k (exactly $5,539) | Furkan Baytak, Furkan Özkaya | |
 | Marble Champions | $14.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | Luc Versleijen, Neonchimp Games | |
 | The Confinement | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Mr. Dev Studio | |
 | Tiny | $0.99 | 78 83% | 2.3k | $2.3k (exactly $2,317) | Just Indie | |
 | Marble Quest | · EA | $4.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | Wolf Developer, ReelablePenny14 |
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.