Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Platformer?

Platformer + Hacking

Only 17 developers shipped a Hacking Platformer in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Lia: Hacking Destiny, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×87 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 26 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $449 → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $537 (exactly $537)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $41,372)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 49
Announced 26
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 65% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 2D Platformer, Action, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
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 96% positive over 189 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $540, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Gunpoint 2013 · $3.1M Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 2020 · $695k LIBERATED 2020 · $407k Smilemo 2022 · $353k RIVE 2016 · $210k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Gunpoint older $9.99 10,276 97% 308k $3.1M (exactly $3,079,717) Suspicious Developments
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 older $14.99 1,546 84% 46k $695k (exactly $695,236) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
LIBERATED older $19.99 679 77% 20k $407k (exactly $407,196) Atomic Wolf, L.INC
Smilemo older $9.99 1,179 74% 35k $353k (exactly $353,346) SungjunJo
RIVE older $14.99 468 83% 14k $210k (exactly $210,460) Two Tribes
I hate this game older $1.99 2,466 93% 74k $147k (exactly $147,220) Pixel Error
STRIDE: Fates older $29.99 149 51% 4.5k $134k (exactly $134,055) Joy Way
Bots Are Stupid older $12.99 161 77% 4.8k $63k (exactly $62,742) Leander Edler-Golla
Lia: Hacking Destiny $14.99 92 96% 2.8k $41k (exactly $41,372) Orube Game Studio
Ensora older $14.99 40 72% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Dex Games Studio
Veiled Edge · EA $14.99 21 95% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) ONW Studio Inc,
Project Chameleon $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Anonymous King
Bit ESC $14.99 8 100% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Essssam
Dash'n'Drops · EA $6.99 12 91% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Le Moulin aux Bulles
Alpha and Iota $5.00 11 100% 330 $1.7k (exactly $1,650) Alpha and Iota Games
The Little Pixel That Could $4.99 11 100% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) R.J. Brontsema
RoboSamurai $11.99 3 33% 90 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) metapika
BLOOD=BULLETS $1.99 9 100% 270 $537 (exactly $537) Slendykray
H4CT0PL45M $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) MetricBead

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