Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Action game?

Action + Platformer

Of 2,229 developers who shipped a Platformer Action game 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.. 3,700 more are announced, ×3.0 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 $180k, ×291 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 3,700 games are announced against 1,242 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 3,700 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,229
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.1k → $1.2k → $897 → $959 → $898 → $628 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,229
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,518)
Top 5% $183k (exactly $182,578)
Developers, 2 yr 2,229
Released games 9,008
Announced 3,700
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 10% on the market, supply 20% more developers than 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, 2D Platformer, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
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 91% positive over 852,889 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $630, 1 in 4 over $4.5k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 1,280 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,700 games are announced against 1,242 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terraria older $9.99 1,240,388 97% 37M $372M (exactly $371,744,284) Re-Logic
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Hollow Knight: Silksong $19.99 386,977 89% 12M $232M (exactly $232,070,107) Team Cherry
Hollow Knight older $14.99 502,960 96% 15M $226M (exactly $226,181,112) Team Cherry
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ older $39.99 153,782 88% 4.6M $184M (exactly $184,492,265) Respawn Entertainment
Ori and the Will of the Wisps older $29.99 136,019 96% 4.1M $122M (exactly $122,376,294) Moon Studios GmbH
Cuphead older $19.99 198,790 96% 6.0M $119M (exactly $119,214,363) Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc.
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Dead Cells older $24.99 156,263 97% 4.7M $117M (exactly $117,150,371) Motion Twin
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS $49.99 12,178 96% 365k $18M (exactly $18,263,347) Sonic Team
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist $24.99 17,143 95% 514k $13M (exactly $12,852,107) Adglobe, Live Wire
Little Nightmares III $39.99 10,165 46% 305k $12M (exactly $12,194,950) Supermassive Games
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios

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