Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Futuristic

Of 96 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 190 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 49 developers shipped in the last year and 190 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 190 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 96
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $180 → $270 → $359 → $299 → $1.1k → $597 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 96
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $16,519)
Developers, 2 yr 96
Released games 334
Announced 190
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 200% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
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
Puzzle Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 827 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 65 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 190 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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

COCOON 2023 · $6.0M The Entropy Centre 2022 · $2.0M Lightmatter 2020 · $414k Golf Club Nostalgia 2021 · $355k Copy Kitty 2018 · $155k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
COCOON older $24.99 7,961 94% 239k $6.0M (exactly $5,968,362) Geometric Interactive
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
Lightmatter older $19.99 691 94% 21k $414k (exactly $414,393) Tunnel Vision Games
Golf Club Nostalgia older $9.99 1,183 83% 35k $355k (exactly $354,545) Demagog Studio
Copy Kitty older $14.99 345 97% 10k $155k (exactly $155,146) Nuclear Strawberry
Venineth older $19.99 253 79% 7.6k $152k (exactly $151,724) Venineth Team, mort-art
Flashback older $9.99 493 79% 15k $148k (exactly $147,752) Paul Cuisset
Keyword: A Spider's Thread older $16.99 239 79% 7.2k $122k (exactly $121,818) City From Naught Inc.
The Last Cube older $19.99 129 96% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Improx Games
Faraday Protocol older $19.99 100 84% 3.0k $60k (exactly $59,970) Red Koi Box
Chromatic Conundrum $4.99 365 98% 11k $55k (exactly $54,640) Digs
Orbyss $14.99 68 95% 2.0k $31k (exactly $30,580) Misty Whale
Causal Loop $19.99 49 91% 1.5k $29k (exactly $29,385) Mirebound Interactive
DeadCore Redux $14.99 46 93% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) 5 Bits Games
SECTOR ZERO $3.99 138 93% 4.1k $17k (exactly $16,519) Ondrej Angelovic
Oirbo $14.99 30 66% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) ImaginationOverflow
NBB.EXE $19.99 18 100% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) Raptus Games
Sands of Hope $10.99 26 84% 780 $8.6k (exactly $8,572) Guateke Studios
Dubio $4.99 56 94% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) AJ Kolenc, Richard Boeser
Vextorial $8.99 31 96% 930 $8.4k (exactly $8,361) VEXT GAMES

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