Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Cats

Of 64 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 98 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 39 developers shipped in the last year and 98 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 98 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $718 → $231 → $629 → $719 → $449 → $1.1k (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,812)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $11,089)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 176
Announced 98
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 25% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 1,167 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.8k, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M Timelie 2020 · $962k CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k Schrodinger's Cat Burglar 2026 · $368k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
Timelie older $17.99 1,783 95% 53k $962k (exactly $962,285) Urnique Studio
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar $19.99 613 97% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) Abandoned Sheep
Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity older $9.99 824 83% 25k $247k (exactly $246,953) 2Play, Prasius
Copy Kitty older $14.99 345 97% 10k $155k (exactly $155,146) Nuclear Strawberry
Recursive Ruin older $14.99 284 78% 8.5k $128k (exactly $127,715) Bit Rot
Everdeep Aurora $19.99 177 89% 5.3k $106k (exactly $106,147) Nautilus Games
I and Me older $9.99 290 96% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,913) Wish Fang
Little Adventurer Treasure Hunt $3.99 185 100% 5.6k $22k (exactly $22,144) BIG EYES TATA
Fire Hero - Pixel Rescue $9.99 37 97% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Ravenlore Studio
Princess of the Water Lilies $14.99 24 100% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Why Knot Studio, Red Dunes Games
KIYO - Bunny Tyranny $14.99 23 100% 690 $10k (exactly $10,343) Pixel Rats
Cloud Cats` Land $4.99 46 97% 1.4k $6.9k (exactly $6,886) Gryphon`s Nest
Cat at Home $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Meowsoft
Ploko $9.99 15 100% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Nifty cat studio
100 Cats Lost In World Find & Color $4.99 28 96% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Two Cats Games

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