Games › Platformer › Platformer + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Platformer?
Platformer + Aliens
Of 86 developers who shipped an Alien 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.. 137 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $49k, ×103 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 137 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) |
| Top 5% | $49k (exactly $49,017) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 86 |
| Released games | 342 |
| Announced | 137 |
| 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 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,375 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 137 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
Axiom Verge 2015 · $3.5M 
Freedom Planet 2014 · $1.5M 
Zombotron 2019 · $1.3M 
Contra: Operation Galuga 2024 · $972k 
Soda Crisis 2022 · $961k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Axiom Verge | older | $19.99 | 5,834 90% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,498,650) | Thomas Happ Games LLC |
| | Freedom Planet | older | $14.99 | 3,317 96% | 100k | $1.5M (exactly $1,491,655) | GalaxyTrail |
| | Zombotron | older | $14.99 | 2,974 89% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,337,408) | Ant.Karlov Games |
| | Contra: Operation Galuga | older | $39.99 | 810 87% | 24k | $972k (exactly $971,757) | WayForward |
| | Soda Crisis | older | $10.99 | 2,915 93% | 87k | $961k (exactly $961,076) | Team Soda |
 | Alien Hominid Invasion | older | $19.99 | 1,572 88% | 47k | $943k (exactly $942,728) | The Behemoth |
 | The Eternal Cylinder | older | $24.99 | 1,166 89% | 35k | $874k (exactly $874,150) | ACE Team |
 | Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition | older | $9.99 | 1,651 85% | 50k | $495k (exactly $494,805) | Eric Chahi, DotEmu |
 | Signs of Life | · EA older | $14.99 | 713 76% | 21k | $321k (exactly $320,636) | Sweet Dog Studios |
 | The Mobius Machine | older | $19.99 | 442 82% | 13k | $265k (exactly $265,067) | Madruga Works |
 | Planet Lust | $14.99 | 335 76% | 10k | $151k (exactly $150,650) | Skullgear | |
 | MARVEL MaXimum Collection | $24.99 | 111 76% | 3.3k | $83k (exactly $83,217) | Limited Run Games | |
 | Goodboy Galaxy | $24.99 | 110 95% | 3.3k | $82k (exactly $82,467) | Goodboy Galaxy Ltd. | |
 | ROLLING STAR | $11.99 | 216 96% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $77,695) | NUL2 STUDIO | |
 | Super Roboy | $14.99 | 109 93% | 3.3k | $49k (exactly $49,017) | Vincent Penning | |
 | Hyper Team Recon | $19.99 | 74 100% | 2.2k | $44k (exactly $44,378) | Nathan Burton | |
 | ChainStaff | $14.99 | 84 92% | 2.5k | $38k (exactly $37,775) | Mommy's Best Games | |
 | Xanthiom 2 | $14.99 | 69 97% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | MathanGames | |
 | This Is No Cave | $6.99 | 127 96% | 3.8k | $27k (exactly $26,632) | monome.studio | |
 | ION Shift | $5.99 | 140 90% | 4.2k | $25k (exactly $25,158) | Electro Soul Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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