Games › Platformer › Platformer + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Platformer?
Platformer + Cats
Of 118 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 166 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×273 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 166 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $838 (exactly $838) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,191) |
| Top 5% | $130k (exactly $129,535) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 118 |
| Released games | 343 |
| Announced | 166 |
| 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 up 120% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 5,055 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 60 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 166 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nine Sols | older | $29.99 | 40,138 94% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $36,112,159) | RedCandleGames |
| | BattleBlock Theater® | older | $14.99 | 55,793 97% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,090,112) | The Behemoth |
| | Night in the Woods | older | $19.99 | 17,760 94% | 533k | $11M (exactly $10,650,672) | Infinite Fall |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
| | Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | older | $29.99 | 5,004 92% | 150k | $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) | Edelweiss |
| | Crypt Custodian | older | $19.99 | 2,927 96% | 88k | $1.8M (exactly $1,755,322) | Kyle Thompson |
| | Gato Roboto | older | $7.99 | 4,363 94% | 131k | $1.0M (exactly $1,045,811) | doinksoft |
| | CATO: Buttered Cat | older | $10.99 | 2,794 98% | 84k | $921k (exactly $921,182) | Team Woll |
| | New Super Lucky's Tale | older | $29.99 | 678 94% | 20k | $610k (exactly $609,997) | Playful Corp. |
| | Bubsy 4D | $19.99 | 777 92% | 23k | $466k (exactly $465,967) | Fabraz | |
| | Twin Shot Deluxe | $9.99 | 1,167 95% | 35k | $350k (exactly $349,750) | Nitrome Limited | |
| | Fatal Claw | $24.99 | 428 89% | 13k | $321k (exactly $320,872) | NDEV GAMES | |
| | Super Chipflake Ü: Quest for the Uncooked Schnitzel | $19.99 | 395 96% | 12k | $237k (exactly $236,881) | SalsaShark Studios | |
| | Catto's Post Office | $4.99 | 1,203 97% | 36k | $180k (exactly $180,089) | In Shambles Studio | |
| | Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection | $19.99 | 216 84% | 6.5k | $130k (exactly $129,535) | Limited Run Games | |
| | Everdeep Aurora | $19.99 | 177 89% | 5.3k | $106k (exactly $106,147) | Nautilus Games | |
| | Stars In The Trash | $11.99 | 279 97% | 8.4k | $100k (exactly $100,356) | Valhalla Cats | |
| | Curiosity: A Cat Climbing Game | $9.99 | 220 96% | 6.6k | $66k (exactly $65,934) | DarkBear Studios, iNightGaming LLC | |
| | Dungeons And Cat | $9.99 | 193 88% | 5.8k | $58k (exactly $57,842) | CatBellUnion |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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