Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Arcade
Should I ship an Arcade Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Arcade
Of 61 developers who shipped an Arcade Metroidvania 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.. 101 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×534 the market median. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 101 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) |
| Top 25% | $6.2k (exactly $6,203) |
| Top 5% | $254k (exactly $253,673) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 222 |
| Announced | 101 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 260% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania, Arcade; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, 2D Platformer
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 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 $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 15,919 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 101 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove 2014 · $17M 
Rogue Legacy 2 2022 · $11M 
Rogue Legacy 2013 · $7.1M 
Windblown 2024 · EA · $6.8M 
Journey To The Savage Planet 2021 · $5.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove | older | $39.99 | 14,211 95% | 426k | $17M (exactly $17,048,937) | Yacht Club Games |
| | Rogue Legacy 2 | older | $24.99 | 14,238 90% | 427k | $11M (exactly $10,674,229) | Cellar Door Games |
| | Rogue Legacy | older | $14.99 | 15,877 92% | 476k | $7.1M (exactly $7,139,887) | Cellar Door Games |
| | Windblown | · EA | $24.99 | 9,066 88% | 272k | $6.8M (exactly $6,796,780) | Motion Twin |
| | Journey To The Savage Planet | older | $29.99 | 5,674 87% | 170k | $5.1M (exactly $5,104,898) | Typhoon |
 | Laika: Aged Through Blood | older | $19.99 | 5,938 91% | 178k | $3.6M (exactly $3,561,019) | Brainwash Gang |
 | SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance | $29.99 | 3,564 83% | 107k | $3.2M (exactly $3,206,531) | SEGA, Lizardcube | |
 | Out There Somewhere | older | $9.99 | 6,160 92% | 185k | $1.8M (exactly $1,846,152) | MiniBoss |
 | Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap | older | $19.99 | 1,980 86% | 59k | $1.2M (exactly $1,187,406) | Lizardcube |
 | Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon | older | $9.99 | 3,823 94% | 115k | $1.1M (exactly $1,145,753) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | Guns of Fury | $14.99 | 950 88% | 29k | $427k (exactly $427,215) | Gelato Games Ltd | |
 | Legacy of Kain: Ascendance | $19.99 | 423 27% | 13k | $254k (exactly $253,673) | Bit Bot Media | |
 | Kong: Survivor Instinct | $24.99 | 338 71% | 10k | $253k (exactly $253,399) | 7Levels | |
 | Pinball Spire | $14.99 | 410 84% | 12k | $184k (exactly $184,377) | Apparition Games | |
 | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
 | Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening | $24.99 | 119 77% | 3.6k | $89k (exactly $89,214) | Magic Pockets | |
 | Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege | $9.99 | 109 94% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $32,667) | Lillymo Games | |
 | Vampire's Best Friend | $9.99 | 73 98% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,878) | SinksAdventure |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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