Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzle PlatformerPuzzle Platformer + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Horror

Of 158 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 239 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $97k, ×205 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 239 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 239 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 158
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $2.5k → $539 → $1.3k → $836 → $1.2k → $1.8k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 158
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $836 (exactly $836)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,472)
Top 5% $97k (exactly $97,370)
Developers, 2 yr 158
Released games 516
Announced 239
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 20% on the market, supply 10% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Horror
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 8,242 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $840, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $97k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 239 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Little Nightmares older $19.99 52,184 94% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,294,745) Tarsier Studios
ANIMAL WELL older $24.99 22,814 95% 684k $17M (exactly $17,103,656) Billy Basso
Superliminal older $19.99 28,428 94% 853k $17M (exactly $17,048,272) Pillow Castle
LIMBO older $12.49 40,672 91% 1.2M $15M (exactly $15,239,798) Playdead
Firework older $9.99 41,172 97% 1.2M $12M (exactly $12,339,248) Shiying Studio
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
Sanfu older $10.99 17,323 82% 520k $5.7M (exactly $5,711,393) Shiying Studio
Catherine Classic older $19.99 8,858 88% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,312,143) ATLUS
Bye Sweet Carole $24.99 1,039 72% 31k $779k (exactly $778,938) Little Sewing Machine
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
BOKURA: planet $5.49 1,459 74% 44k $240k (exactly $240,297) tokoronyori
FUTA RUNNER: Big Dick Edition $6.99 733 66% 22k $154k (exactly $153,710) Evil Boobs Cult
Climb The Backrooms $4.99 1,013 81% 30k $152k (exactly $151,646) LovDEV
LOVE ETERNAL $9.99 453 96% 14k $136k (exactly $135,764) brlka
Paper Bride 6 Nightmare $9.99 369 81% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) HeartBeat Plus
Moving Houses $13.99 232 72% 7.0k $97k (exactly $97,370) Gordon Little
Creepy Tale: Snow Child $11.99 248 91% 7.4k $89k (exactly $89,206) Creepy Brothers
Ayasa: Shadows of Silence $24.99 110 74% 3.3k $82k (exactly $82,467) Aya Games

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