Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Platformer?

Crafting + Platformer

Of 40 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 117 more are announced, ×5.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×3023 the market median. Revenue is up 650% on the market; 117 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 650% on the market, 117 announced, ×5.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $297 → $24k → $179 → $599 → $479 → $18k (still earning) → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $6.4k (exactly $6,437)
Top 5% $1.9M (exactly $1,898,650)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 153
Announced 117
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 650% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 16,480 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $540, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $1.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Terraria 2011 · $372M Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition 2020 · $42M Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2019 · $35M DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 2019 · $10M Farever 2026 · EA · $5.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terraria older $9.99 1,240,388 97% 37M $372M (exactly $371,744,284) Re-Logic
Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition older $29.99 47,176 94% 1.4M $42M (exactly $42,444,247) Thunder Lotus
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night older $39.99 29,588 93% 888k $35M (exactly $35,496,724) ArtPlay
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 older $49.99 6,888 92% 207k $10M (exactly $10,329,934) Square Enix, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Farever · EA $19.99 8,968 75% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) Shiro Games
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin older $29.99 5,004 92% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) Edelweiss
Doloc Town $19.99 3,166 94% 95k $1.9M (exactly $1,898,650) RedSaw Games Studio
Magicite older $9.99 5,802 85% 174k $1.7M (exactly $1,738,859) Sean Young
Planet Centauri $14.99 2,102 75% 63k $945k (exactly $945,269) Permadeath
Roguelands older $9.99 2,932 80% 88k $879k (exactly $878,720) Sean Young
Primal Planet $19.99 629 88% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Seethingswarm
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse $16.99 543 72% 16k $277k (exactly $276,767) Frontside 180
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Kentum $17.99 172 75% 5.2k $93k (exactly $92,828) Tlön Industries
XFlight: FPV Drone Simulator $24.99 24 79% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) Lingsrealm Technology
Cat Clean Ocean $7.99 30 70% 900 $7.2k (exactly $7,191) AGE Zero
DigWorld $4.99 43 81% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Edgar IX

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