Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Aliens

Of 26 developers who shipped an Alien Puzzle 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 13 developers shipped in the last year and 50 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 50 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $2.4k → $599 → $898 → $300 → $210 → $538 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 5% $82k (exactly $82,467)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 116
Announced 50
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Puzzle Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, 2D Platformer
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 603 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $82k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceFair41 devs · median $1.5k · 38 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  3. + Life SimFair20 devs · median $657 · 21 announced
  4. + SimulationFair216 devs · median $479 · 181 announced
  5. + Grid-Based MovementFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  6. + SokobanFair51 devs · median $358 · 49 announced
  7. + LovecraftianPoor odds11 devs · median $9.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  9. + MetroidvaniaPoor odds91 devs · median $5.3k · 264 announced
  10. + SwordplayPoor odds8 devs · median $4.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Split ScreenPoor odds24 devs · median $3.6k · 35 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds18 devs · median $3.0k · 80 announced

All 169 pairs on the Puzzle Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Eternal Cylinder 2022 · $874k Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition 2013 · $495k PLANET ALPHA 2018 · $189k Venineth 2020 · $152k Planet Lust 2026 · $151k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
PLANET ALPHA older $9.99 631 76% 19k $189k (exactly $189,111) Planet Alpha ApS
Venineth older $19.99 253 79% 7.6k $152k (exactly $151,724) Venineth Team, mort-art
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Lifeless Moon older $12.99 256 78% 7.7k $100k (exactly $99,763) Serenity Forge
Goodboy Galaxy $24.99 110 95% 3.3k $82k (exactly $82,467) Goodboy Galaxy Ltd.
The Last Cube older $19.99 129 96% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Improx Games
Faraday Protocol older $19.99 100 84% 3.0k $60k (exactly $59,970) Red Koi Box
Planet of the Eyes older $9.99 179 91% 5.4k $54k (exactly $53,646) Cococucumber
Hyper Team Recon $19.99 74 100% 2.2k $44k (exactly $44,378) Nathan Burton
All of You $5.99 24 95% 720 $4.3k (exactly $4,313) Alike Studio
That Time I Got Abducted by KYONYUU ALIENS $12.99 11 72% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,287) Dieselmine
Stellar Mess: Operation Kush (Chapter 2) $5.99 19 100% 570 $3.4k (exactly $3,414) Tibba Games
Aéro: speedrun labyrinthe $4.99 14 71% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Alisson Molina
Mental State. Game One $4.99 9 100% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Dreaman
Neanderthallica $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Cheers LLC
Time Flipper $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Lusho

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