Do I ship it?

GamesPrecision PlatformerPrecision Platformer + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Precision Platformer?

Precision Platformer + Dark Fantasy

Of 46 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Precision 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×75 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 75 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 75 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Precision Platformer + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $150 → $2.7k → $3.3k → $1.3k → $718 → $898 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Precision Platformer + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,240)
Top 5% $47k (exactly $47,376)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 124
Announced 75
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 down 25% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Precision Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult, Pixel Graphics, 2D
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 92% positive over 3,228 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Precision Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DemonsFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  2. + FPSFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  3. + GothicFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 17 announced
  4. + HorrorFair68 devs · median $1.0k · 69 announced
  5. + Character CustomizationFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  6. + Perma DeathFair46 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  7. + IdlerFair12 devs · median $657 · 6 announced
  8. + Action RoguelikeFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  9. + Time ManipulationFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxFair30 devs · median $537 · 21 announced
  11. + Procedural GenerationFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  12. + RPGFair41 devs · median $449 · 43 announced

All 123 pairs on the Precision Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The End Is Nigh older $14.99 3,291 93% 99k $1.5M (exactly $1,479,963) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
Unbound: Worlds Apart older $19.99 1,200 82% 36k $720k (exactly $719,640) Alien Pixel Studios
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU older $19.99 898 82% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Surgent Studios
Ambidextro $7.99 1,334 98% 40k $320k (exactly $319,760) Majorariatto
TTV2 older $4.99 1,487 86% 45k $223k (exactly $222,604) Walter Machado
Splodey older $12.99 224 91% 6.7k $87k (exactly $87,293) Send It Studios
Brush Burial older $6.99 276 87% 8.3k $58k (exactly $57,877) Knife Demon Software
Volgarr the Viking II older $19.99 85 81% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Digital Eclipse, Crazy Viking Studios
WarriOrb older $12.99 127 77% 3.8k $49k (exactly $49,492) Not Yet
Before I Go $19.99 79 83% 2.4k $47k (exactly $47,376) J's Labratory
Beyond the Ice Palace 2 $19.99 77 63% 2.3k $46k (exactly $46,177) STORYBIRD Studio
THE CANON OF BALLS $3.99 287 98% 8.6k $34k (exactly $34,354) Helios Monk
Beholgar 2 $11.99 77 80% 2.3k $28k (exactly $27,697) Serkan Bakar
Get Tilted! :) $14.99 45 97% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Timebat Studio
Ascending Inferno $10.99 55 98% 1.7k $18k (exactly $18,134) Oppolyon Studios
Gravity Castle $14.99 38 89% 1.1k $17k (exactly $17,089) Studio LEF
Quetzal's Call $9.99 34 88% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) tissue inu

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