Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Platformer

Only 14 developers shipped a Platformer Character Action Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Shady Knight, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×360 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.2k → $1.2k → $3.0k → $4.3k → $50k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,888)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,235)
Top 25% $58k (exactly $57,698)
Top 5% $539k (exactly $538,531)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 169
Announced 26
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 90% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Character Action Game
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Character Action Game, Platformer
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,519 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.9k, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $57k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.9k. 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Character Action Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Sci-fiPoor odds12 devs · median $305k · 30 announced
  2. + Action RPGPoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  3. + ShooterPoor odds14 devs · median $84k · 47 announced
  4. + Action-AdventurePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  5. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds14 devs · median $58k · 43 announced
  6. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  7. + Hack and SlashPoor odds27 devs · median $58k · 80 announced
  8. + Beat 'em upPoor odds12 devs · median $58k · 37 announced
  9. + AdventurePoor odds28 devs · median $29k · 100 announced
  10. + ActionPoor odds54 devs · median $20k · 188 announced
  11. + Action RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  12. + RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 16 announced

All 39 pairs on the Character Action Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M DmC: Devil May Cry 2013 · $19M ICEY 2016 · $8.3M Vigil: The Longest Night 2020 · $2.2M Valdis Story: Abyssal City 2013 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hi-Fi RUSH older $29.99 27,454 97% 824k $25M (exactly $24,700,364) Tango Gameworks
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
ICEY older $10.99 25,142 89% 754k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) FantaBlade Network
Vigil: The Longest Night older $21.99 3,333 85% 100k $2.2M (exactly $2,198,780) Glass Heart Games
Valdis Story: Abyssal City older $14.99 2,275 83% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,023,068) Endlessfluff Games
Mighty Goose older $19.99 943 86% 28k $566k (exactly $565,517) Blastmode, MP2 Games
Shady Knight $19.99 898 93% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Alexey 'cptnsigh'
Lakeview Cabin Collection older $9.99 1,599 94% 48k $479k (exactly $479,220) Roope Tamminen
BloodRayne 2: Terminal Cut older $14.99 1,024 77% 31k $460k (exactly $460,493) Terminal Reality
The Darkest Tales older $19.99 697 69% 21k $418k (exactly $417,991) Trinity Team
BioMenace Remastered $14.99 186 99% 5.6k $84k (exactly $83,644) Rigel Gameworks
SoulQuest $19.99 97 81% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) SoulBlade Studio LLC, TomasJPereyra
Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest $10.99 175 89% 5.3k $58k (exactly $57,698) Maddison Baek
Emberbane $14.99 111 52% 3.3k $50k (exactly $49,917) Hamlet Games
Slime Changer $11.99 12 100% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) MoonJourney
BOMCAT $5.99 18 100% 540 $3.2k (exactly $3,235) TANZI GAMES
Xenrai $19.99 5 80% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) Zenith Edge Studios
Slay The Berserker · EA $9.99 10 50% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Advance Garde
Flora & Fang: Guardians of the vampire garden $8.99 7 100% 210 $1.9k (exactly $1,888) Magnus Fredriksson

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