Do I ship it?

Games4 Player Local4 Player Local + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 4 Player Local Platformer?

4 Player Local + Platformer

Of 65 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local 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.. 114 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×259 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 114 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 114 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4 Player Local + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $598 → $3.9k → $1.0k → $2.8k → $1.9k → $2.2k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 4 Player Local + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,800)
Top 5% $123k (exactly $122,938)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 347
Announced 114
Effort 4 / 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 225% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
4 Player Local, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Family Friendly, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 9,135 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. Nearly all of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 114 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Open WorldFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  2. + Multiple EndingsFair10 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  3. + SimulationFair69 devs · median $2.1k · 86 announced
  4. + Immersive SimFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 15 announced
  5. + CatsFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 16 announced
  6. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  7. + ManagementPoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 37 announced
  8. + Football (Soccer)Poor odds14 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  9. + Beat 'em upPoor odds30 devs · median $8.7k · 67 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $8.5k · 19 announced
  11. + TriviaPoor odds9 devs · median $7.2k · 9 announced
  12. + MinigamesPoor odds12 devs · median $7.2k · 28 announced

All 109 pairs on the 4 Player Local page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Broforce older $14.99 49,512 96% 1.5M $22M (exactly $22,265,546) Free Lives
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
Spelunky 2 older $19.99 19,736 93% 592k $12M (exactly $11,835,679) Mossmouth, BlitWorks
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince older $29.99 11,712 88% 351k $11M (exactly $10,537,286) Frozenbyte
Rayman® Legends older $29.99 11,420 89% 343k $10M (exactly $10,274,574) Ubisoft Montpellier
SpeedRunners older $14.99 22,842 94% 685k $10M (exactly $10,272,047) DoubleDutch Games
Duck Game older $12.99 25,262 97% 758k $9.8M (exactly $9,844,601) Landon Podbielski
Move or Die older $14.99 16,479 89% 494k $7.4M (exactly $7,410,606) Xelu, Those Awesome Guys
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed $9.99 447 55% 13k $134k (exactly $133,966) Fair Play Labs
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon $19.99 205 45% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Clever Endeavour Games
Snow Bros. Wonderland $29.99 40 80% 1.2k $36k (exactly $35,988) Tatsujin, Bitwave Games, Toaplan
Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey and Friends $29.99 31 93% 930 $28k (exactly $27,891) Dlala Studios
This Is No Cave $6.99 127 96% 3.8k $27k (exactly $26,632) monome.studio
Running Fable Petite Party $13.99 51 100% 1.5k $21k (exactly $21,405) Seashell Studio
Lunars · EA $14.99 40 97% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Anubis Arts
Warm Monkey $9.00 47 89% 1.4k $13k (exactly $12,690) Evprod

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