Games › Platformer › Platformer + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Platformer?
Platformer + Horror
Of 213 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 349 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×1240 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 349 games are announced against 110 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) |
| Top 25% | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) |
| Top 5% | $589k (exactly $588,905) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 213 |
| Released games | 726 |
| Announced | 349 |
| 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 25% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Horror
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 342,749 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 123 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 349 games are announced against 110 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
Tomb Raider Game of the Year 2013 · $104M 
PEAK 2025 · $72M 
INSIDE 2016 · $52M 
Little Nightmares II 2021 · $45M 
Blasphemous 2019 · $41M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tomb Raider Game of the Year | older | $19.99 | 173,270 95% | 5.2M | $104M (exactly $103,910,019) | Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes) |
| | PEAK | $7.99 | 301,964 94% | 9.1M | $72M (exactly $72,380,771) | Team PEAK | |
| | INSIDE | older | $24.99 | 69,791 97% | 2.1M | $52M (exactly $52,322,313) | Playdead |
| | Little Nightmares II | older | $29.99 | 50,280 92% | 1.5M | $45M (exactly $45,236,916) | Tarsier Studios |
| | Blasphemous | older | $24.99 | 54,724 90% | 1.6M | $41M (exactly $41,026,583) | The Game Kitchen |
 | Gorilla Tag | older | $19.99 | 52,637 93% | 1.6M | $32M (exactly $31,566,409) | Another Axiom Inc. |
 | Little Nightmares | older | $19.99 | 52,184 94% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,294,745) | Tarsier Studios |
 | CARRION | older | $19.99 | 33,270 94% | 998k | $20M (exactly $19,952,019) | Phobia Game Studio |
 | Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy | older | $7.99 | 75,118 82% | 2.3M | $18M (exactly $18,005,785) | Bennett Foddy |
 | ANIMAL WELL | older | $24.99 | 22,814 95% | 684k | $17M (exactly $17,103,656) | Billy Basso |
 | Little Nightmares III | $39.99 | 10,165 46% | 305k | $12M (exactly $12,194,950) | Supermassive Games | |
 | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
 | Mina the Hollower | $19.99 | 7,562 88% | 227k | $4.5M (exactly $4,534,931) | Yacht Club Games | |
 | The Break-In | $19.99 | 2,040 87% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) | jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh | |
 | Lorn's Lure | $14.99 | 2,654 86% | 80k | $1.2M (exactly $1,193,504) | Rubeki Games | |
 | Luna Abyss | $29.99 | 923 86% | 28k | $830k (exactly $830,423) | Kwalee Labs | |
 | Twisted Tower | $14.99 | 1,827 93% | 55k | $822k (exactly $821,602) | Atmos Games | |
 | CYAN BRAIN | $14.99 | 1,463 89% | 44k | $658k (exactly $657,911) | NEKOUJI | |
 | The Devil Within: Satgat | $24.99 | 795 78% | 24k | $596k (exactly $596,012) | Newcore Games |
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.