Games › Exploration › Exploration + Precision Platformer
Should I ship an Exploration Precision Platformer?
Exploration + Precision Platformer
Of 224 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 336 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $75k, ×160 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 336 games are announced against 125 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) |
| Top 25% | $6.9k (exactly $6,886) |
| Top 5% | $76k (exactly $75,992) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 224 |
| Released games | 562 |
| Announced | 336 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Precision Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Precision Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 12,097 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 118 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 336 games are announced against 125 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Celeste 2018 · $79M 
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown 2024 · $6.1M 
Hot Lava 2019 · $3.2M 
MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M 
Aeterna Noctis 2021 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Celeste | older | $19.99 | 132,072 97% | 4.0M | $79M (exactly $79,203,578) | Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Ga… (Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Games, Ltd.) |
| | Prince of Persia The Lost Crown | older | $29.99 | 6,754 84% | 203k | $6.1M (exactly $6,076,574) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| | Hot Lava | older | $19.99 | 5,335 92% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,199,399) | Klei Entertainment |
| | MIO: Memories in Orbit | $19.99 | 4,300 83% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) | Douze Dixièmes | |
| | Aeterna Noctis | older | $29.99 | 1,699 76% | 51k | $1.5M (exactly $1,528,590) | Aeternum Game Studios S.L |
 | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | Blue Fire | older | $19.99 | 1,908 83% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,144,228) | Robi Studios |
 | VVVVVV | older | $4.99 | 6,657 96% | 200k | $997k (exactly $996,553) | Terry Cavanagh |
 | Monument Valley 3 | $14.99 | 2,155 93% | 65k | $969k (exactly $969,104) | ustwo games | |
 | Monument Valley 2 | older | $7.99 | 3,526 93% | 106k | $845k (exactly $845,182) | ustwo games |
 | Luna Abyss | $29.99 | 923 86% | 28k | $830k (exactly $830,423) | Kwalee Labs | |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile | |
 | Windswept | $19.99 | 470 92% | 14k | $282k (exactly $281,859) | WeatherFell | |
 | PEPPERED: an existential platformer | $14.99 | 603 96% | 18k | $271k (exactly $271,169) | Mostly Games | |
 | Bat to the Heavens | $14.99 | 407 95% | 12k | $183k (exactly $183,028) | ceroro | |
 | TetherGeist | $16.99 | 299 97% | 9.0k | $152k (exactly $152,400) | O. and Co. Games, Out of Space Games | |
 | Space Accident VR | $16.99 | 231 82% | 6.9k | $118k (exactly $117,741) | VR-WRG |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.