Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzle PlatformerPuzzle Platformer + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Dystopian

Of 38 developers who shipped a Dystopian Puzzle 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.. 83 more are announced, ×5.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×271 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 83 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 83 announced, ×5.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $359 → $449 → $5.4k → $479 → $1.1k → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,746)
Top 5% $129k (exactly $128,871)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 137
Announced 83
Effort 4 / 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 225% on the market, supply 45% fewer 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.

Puzzle 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
Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Puzzle, 2D Platformer
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 1,388 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomanceFair41 devs · median $1.5k · 38 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  3. + Life SimFair20 devs · median $657 · 21 announced
  4. + SimulationFair216 devs · median $479 · 181 announced
  5. + Grid-Based MovementFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  6. + SokobanFair51 devs · median $358 · 49 announced
  7. + LovecraftianPoor odds11 devs · median $9.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  9. + MetroidvaniaPoor odds91 devs · median $5.3k · 264 announced
  10. + SwordplayPoor odds8 devs · median $4.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Split ScreenPoor odds24 devs · median $3.6k · 35 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds18 devs · median $3.0k · 80 announced

All 169 pairs on the Puzzle Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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)
VLADiK BRUTAL older $11.99 9,551 89% 287k $3.4M (exactly $3,435,495) BRUTAL SOFTWARE
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
White Shadows older $19.99 1,877 81% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,125,637) Monokel
YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY- older $19.99 1,350 69% 41k $810k (exactly $809,595) KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Active Gaming Med… (KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Active Gaming Media Inc.)
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition older $39.99 504 65% 15k $605k (exactly $604,649) Oddworld Inhabitants
LIBERATED older $19.99 679 77% 20k $407k (exactly $407,196) Atomic Wolf, L.INC
Slice of Sea older $24.99 523 90% 16k $392k (exactly $392,093) Mateusz Skutnik
Golf Club Nostalgia older $9.99 1,183 83% 35k $355k (exactly $354,545) Demagog Studio
PEPPERED: an existential platformer $14.99 603 96% 18k $271k (exactly $271,169) Mostly Games
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists $9.99 113 84% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,866) Neckbolt
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
Alruna: End of History $11.99 44 88% 1.3k $16k (exactly $15,827) Neckbolt
Mai: Child of Ages $14.99 34 88% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Chubby Pixel
Get Up In The Night $6.99 52 98% 1.6k $11k (exactly $10,904) GUITN Studio
NBB.EXE $19.99 18 100% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) Raptus Games
Signal Maze $14.99 24 95% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) theArkitect
Telebbit $9.99 28 96% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) IKINAGAMES

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