Do I ship it?

GamesPlatformerPlatformer + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Platformer?

Platformer + Futuristic

Of 213 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 396 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $79k, ×168 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 396 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 396 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 213
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $238 → $1.5k → $899 → $599 → $748 → $479 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 213
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,876)
Top 5% $80k (exactly $79,760)
Developers, 2 yr 213
Released games 721
Announced 396
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 down 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Futuristic
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, 2D Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 12,169 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 $480, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $79k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 138 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 396 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
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
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
POPUCOM $19.99 3,432 87% 103k $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) Hypergryph
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
Solar Ash older $39.99 1,354 90% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,624,394) Heart Machine
Spark the Electric Jester 3 older $24.99 1,913 96% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,434,176) Feperd Games
Trials Fusion™ older $19.99 2,285 66% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,370,314) RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft… (RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Kiev)
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
BAIONLENJA · EA $12.99 510 97% 15k $199k (exactly $198,747) BAION
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio
Advent NEON® $19.99 300 98% 9.0k $180k (exactly $179,910) CryoGX
INAYAH - Life after Gods $15.99 230 71% 6.9k $110k (exactly $110,331) Exogenesis Studios
Kentum $17.99 172 75% 5.2k $93k (exactly $92,828) Tlön Industries

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