Do I ship it?

GamesPlatformerPlatformer + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Platformer?

Platformer + Dystopian

Of 83 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 166 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×571 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 166 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 166 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $2.0k → $594 → $1.8k → $1.1k → $2.2k → $539 (still earning) → $28k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,166)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 5% $271k (exactly $271,169)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 265
Announced 166
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 95% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 12,756 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 166 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SANABI older $14.99 41,700 97% 1.3M $19M (exactly $18,752,490) WONDER POTION
Mirror's Edge™ older $19.99 31,195 87% 936k $19M (exactly $18,707,642) DICE
Remember Me older $29.99 11,128 83% 334k $10M (exactly $10,011,862) DONTNOD Entertainment
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst older $19.99 14,078 79% 422k $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) DICE
Pikuniku older $12.99 10,082 96% 302k $3.9M (exactly $3,928,955) Arnaud De Bock, Rémi Forcadell, Alan Zu… (Arnaud De Bock, Rémi Forcadell, Alan Zucconi, Calum Bowen, Sectordub)
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Denshattack! $19.99 2,910 98% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) Undercoders
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
Get To Work $12.99 3,456 88% 104k $1.3M (exactly $1,346,803) Isto Inc.
STRIDE older $19.99 1,975 79% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,184,408) Joy Way
VHOLUME $8.00 2,992 97% 90k $718k (exactly $718,080) Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin)
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
PEPPERED: an existential platformer $14.99 603 96% 18k $271k (exactly $271,169) Mostly Games
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
Possessor(s) $9.99 718 75% 22k $215k (exactly $215,185) Heart Machine
Ikarus Parkour $12.99 195 81% 5.9k $76k (exactly $75,992) Vanja Aleksić
Anima Flux $19.99 69 78% 2.1k $41k (exactly $41,379) Avantaj Prim
Last Vanguard $14.99 77 81% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Cool Tapir Studios

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