Do I ship it?

GamesArcadeArcade + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Arcade game?

Arcade + Puzzle Platformer

Of 317 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer Arcade 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.. 295 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 180 developers shipped in the last year and 295 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 295 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 317
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $839 → $891 → $772 → $449 → $299 → $269 → $330 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 317
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $240 (exactly $240)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 5% $18k (exactly $17,515)
Developers, 2 yr 317
Released games 1,204
Announced 295
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 down 10% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Puzzle 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,137 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. Nearly all of the 164 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 295 games are announced against 180 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Out There Somewhere older $9.99 6,160 92% 185k $1.8M (exactly $1,846,152) MiniBoss
PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC older $29.99 1,644 92% 49k $1.5M (exactly $1,479,107) NOW PRODUCTION
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide $39.99 1,151 93% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) Purple Lamp
N++ (NPLUSPLUS) older $14.99 2,825 95% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,270,402) Metanet Software Inc.
Freedom Planet 2 older $24.99 1,581 96% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,185,276) GalaxyTrail
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light older $9.99 3,566 92% 107k $1.1M (exactly $1,068,730) Crystal Dynamics
Marble It Up! Ultra older $29.99 1,060 93% 32k $954k (exactly $953,682) Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes an… (Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes and Lines, Arcturus Interactive, The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
Darwin's Paradox! $24.99 843 87% 25k $632k (exactly $631,997) ZDT Studio
Promenade older $19.99 841 94% 25k $504k (exactly $504,348) Holy Cap
Zup! older $1.99 8,307 94% 249k $496k (exactly $495,928) Quiet River
TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- $24.99 610 87% 18k $457k (exactly $457,317) ARIKA
Pinball Spire $14.99 410 84% 12k $184k (exactly $184,377) Apparition Games
The Smurfs – Dreams $29.99 174 92% 5.2k $157k (exactly $156,548) Ocellus Studio
Creepy Tale: Snow Child $11.99 248 91% 7.4k $89k (exactly $89,206) Creepy Brothers
Drill Bird $4.99 379 97% 11k $57k (exactly $56,736) Sebastian Larsson, Andrea Harty, Hampus… (Sebastian Larsson, Andrea Harty, Hampus Melin , Isabelle Neuman, Luiza Flores da Cunha)
Galumb $7.99 148 28% 4.4k $35k (exactly $35,476) OB
Marble's Marbles $7.99 142 92% 4.3k $34k (exactly $34,037) James Oliver
SNOW BROS. SPECIAL: ANNIVERSARY EDITION $29.99 32 78% 960 $29k (exactly $28,790) CRT GAMES

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