Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Arcade game?

Arcade + Runner

Of 364 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 344 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 198 developers shipped in the last year and 344 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 344 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 364
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $479 → $327 → $165 → $239 → $239 → $120 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 364
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $178 (exactly $178)
Top 25% $807 (exactly $807)
Top 5% $16k (exactly $16,497)
Developers, 2 yr 364
Released games 1,194
Announced 344
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Runner
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, Runner; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Racing
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 19,965 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $180, 1 in 4 over $800, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 208 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 344 games are announced against 198 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

Haste 2025 · $7.6M Retrowave 2022 · $1.2M ALTF4 2021 · $848k BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien 2013 · $733k VHOLUME 2026 · $718k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
Retrowave older $2.99 13,742 96% 412k $1.2M (exactly $1,232,657) RewindApp
ALTF4 older $2.99 9,452 80% 284k $848k (exactly $847,844) PUMPKIM
BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien older $14.99 1,630 93% 49k $733k (exactly $733,011) Gaijin Games
VHOLUME $8.00 2,992 97% 90k $718k (exactly $718,080) Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin)
Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story™ older $9.99 2,238 79% 67k $671k (exactly $670,729) Choice Provisions
Race The Sun older $9.99 1,974 93% 59k $592k (exactly $591,608) Flippfly LLC
Mighty Goose older $19.99 943 86% 28k $566k (exactly $565,517) Blastmode, MP2 Games
BIT.TRIP RUNNER older $9.99 1,828 86% 55k $548k (exactly $547,852) Gaijin Games, Choice Provisions
Neon Drive older $9.99 1,664 86% 50k $499k (exactly $498,701) Fraoula, Spiky Crumb
ODDCORE · EA $12.99 1,080 96% 32k $421k (exactly $420,876) ODDCORP
Nitro Express $12.99 1,069 75% 32k $417k (exactly $416,589) Grayfax Software
WASD : The Adventure of Tori $3.99 730 83% 22k $87k (exactly $87,381) EVNA Games
Retrowave 2 $4.99 449 88% 13k $67k (exactly $67,215) RewindApp
BEHEMOTH $3.99 412 88% 12k $49k (exactly $49,316) The Behemoth
Sensory Overload $9.99 162 93% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Pancake Studios
Sushi Cat Legacy Collection $4.99 263 95% 7.9k $39k (exactly $39,371) Armor Games Studios
JETRUNNER $9.99 118 96% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Riddlebit Software

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