Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Artificial Intelligence

Of 37 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 22 developers shipped in the last year and 53 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 53 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $624 → $1.3k → $358 → $60 → $683 → $359 → $475 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,319)
Top 5% $6.7k (exactly $6,746)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 131
Announced 53
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Artificial Intelligence
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
Puzzle Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Simulation, Adventure
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 394 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $6.7k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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 Entropy Centre 2022 · $2.0M Will You Snail? 2022 · $827k NODE 2025 · $109k Faraday Protocol 2021 · $60k The Last Worker 2023 · $28k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
Will You Snail? older $10.99 2,509 97% 75k $827k (exactly $827,217) Jonas Tyroller
NODE $24.99 146 91% 4.4k $109k (exactly $109,456) Lapsus Games
Faraday Protocol older $19.99 100 84% 3.0k $60k (exactly $59,970) Red Koi Box
The Last Worker older $19.99 46 63% 1.4k $28k (exactly $27,586) Oiffy, Wolf & Wood Interactive Ltd
The God Unit older $9.99 78 96% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,377) Cat Floor Studio
默途 Monobot older $6.99 93 90% 2.8k $20k (exactly $19,502) DreamSmith Studio
Fumiko! older $6.99 90 82% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) Fumiko Games
Frame - Portals on Steroids older $16.99 35 91% 1.1k $18k (exactly $17,840) MechanicsDriven
THE BYTE older $24.99 15 80% 450 $11k (exactly $11,246) AVAKE
Animosity $14.99 15 93% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Red River Studio
My Sweet Summer $2.99 56 85% 1.7k $5.0k (exactly $5,023) Rabro
Velvet $2.99 51 94% 1.5k $4.6k (exactly $4,575) Inspite
Organic Evolution $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Gamesforgames
Denbora $19.99 4 100% 120 $2.4k (exactly $2,399) Bionic Ape
SNOWY MEMORIES $4.99 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) quan home
NEON $0.99 61 37% 1.8k $1.8k (exactly $1,812) Logna Blue
Haley: Online - Private Profile $3.99 12 91% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Red Sasori
Hentai Step Milf $1.99 23 91% 690 $1.4k (exactly $1,373) UwU

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