Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Choose Your Own Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Platformer?

Platformer + Choose Your Own Adventure

Of 57 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 20 developers shipped in the last year and 73 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 73 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Choose Your Own Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $269 → $359 → $2.2k → $446 → $629 → $299 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Choose Your Own Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $149 (exactly $149)
Median $446 (exactly $446)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,994)
Top 5% $36k (exactly $35,982)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 165
Announced 73
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 down 40% on the market, supply 45% fewer 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.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Choose Your Own Adventure
effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Platformer, Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 2,005 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  2. + PinballStrong odds10 devs · median $2.5k · 6 announced
  3. + Combat RacingFair28 devs · median $899 · 38 announced
  4. + FMVFair9 devs · median $899 · 10 announced
  5. + SimulationFair281 devs · median $628 · 235 announced
  6. + Grid-Based MovementFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  7. + AutomationFair13 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced
  9. + LGBTQ+Poor odds42 devs · median $7.2k · 90 announced
  10. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds32 devs · median $6.5k · 90 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds14 devs · median $5.8k · 38 announced
  12. + SkateboardingPoor odds14 devs · median $4.8k · 23 announced

All 206 pairs on the Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sable 2021 · $4.0M Reventure 2019 · $3.1M Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed 2024 · $1.5M ALTF4 2021 · $848k Future Fragments 2024 · $270k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sable older $24.99 5,365 86% 161k $4.0M (exactly $4,022,140) Shedworks
Reventure older $12.34 8,451 95% 254k $3.1M (exactly $3,128,560) Pixelatto
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed $39.99 1,275 93% 38k $1.5M (exactly $1,529,618) Purple Lamp
ALTF4 older $2.99 9,452 80% 284k $848k (exactly $847,844) PUMPKIM
Future Fragments older $19.99 450 74% 14k $270k (exactly $269,865) The Future Fragments Team
BLACKSHARD $14.99 432 91% 13k $194k (exactly $194,270) Redlock Studio, Enclave
The Cloud Dream of the Nine older $19.99 63 84% 1.9k $38k (exactly $37,781) Sesisoft
Witch 2 Hell Adventure older $7.99 156 89% 4.7k $37k (exactly $37,393) Towndarktales
THE GOOD OLD DAYS $19.99 60 85% 1.8k $36k (exactly $35,982) ヨコゴシステムズ
Magic Trap older $49.99 23 86% 690 $34k (exactly $34,493) Gamesforgames
Alice's Lullaby $14.99 37 83% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) Ape Law
1000 Deaths (Thousand Deaths) $14.99 33 87% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Pariah Interactive, Inc.
CODE: PANDORA 2 $9.99 35 74% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Towndarktales
A Happy Place $9.99 25 96% 750 $7.5k (exactly $7,492) Ziggity
Byte The Bullet $5.99 38 92% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) Esteban Marin
Natural Unintelligence: Zueirama 2 · EA $7.99 28 78% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) Memes Games
Good Luck $4.99 42 69% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Happybara Games

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