Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Platformer?

Platformer + Dragons

Of 24 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 46 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×7.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $39k, ×63 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 46 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 155% on the market, 46 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $120 → $3.9k → $809 → $959 → $6.0k → $1.9k → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $4.8k (exactly $4,790)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,840)
Top 5% $40k (exactly $39,580)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 106
Announced 46
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 155% on the market, supply 40% 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.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dragons
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
Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,166 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $4.8k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $39k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Platformer with a different setting or mood, 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

Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy 2019 · $17M Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus 2024 · $838k Dragon Is Dead 2025 · $396k Toren 2015 · $286k Aron's Adventure 2021 · $122k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy older $39.99 14,211 92% 426k $17M (exactly $17,048,937) Toys for Bob, Iron Galaxy Studios
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus older $19.99 1,398 82% 42k $838k (exactly $838,381) Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair,… (Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist)
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
Toren older $9.99 954 64% 29k $286k (exactly $285,914) Swordtales
Aron's Adventure older $19.99 204 74% 6.1k $122k (exactly $122,339) Tim van Kan, Tom Raudys
Beholgar older $8.99 343 76% 10k $93k (exactly $92,507) Serkan Bakar
DRAGON: A Game About a Dragon older $4.99 497 69% 15k $74k (exactly $74,401) Games With Dragons In
Scrap Garden older $9.99 206 72% 6.2k $62k (exactly $61,738) Egidijus Bachur, Alexey Davydov
Dragon's Wake older $3.99 346 90% 10k $41k (exactly $41,416) Brainbox Software
Adventure of Samsara $19.99 66 89% 2.0k $40k (exactly $39,580) Ilex Games
Tasty Planet: Final Bite $12.99 100 90% 3.0k $39k (exactly $38,970) Dingo Games
Ultimate Drummer $5.99 170 98% 5.1k $31k (exactly $30,549) Cool 3D World
Lunars · EA $14.99 40 97% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Anubis Arts
Mythrealm · EA $14.99 33 87% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Delta Video Games
Nomyou $11.99 39 56% 1.2k $14k (exactly $14,028) Kudalyn's Creations
Soar: Pillars of Tasneem $19.99 10 70% 300 $6.0k (exactly $5,997) Kimchi Corp
Dragon Hop $4.99 36 100% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) Dustrider Studios
Mercenary Leto $14.99 11 100% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) dragonGlitch Games LLC

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