Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental Platformer?

Platformer + Incremental

Of 41 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 37 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 25 developers shipped in the last year and 37 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 37 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $416 → $2.4k → $299 → $564 → $270 (still earning) → $4.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,341)
Top 5% $69k (exactly $69,411)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 121
Announced 37
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 50% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Platformer, Incremental; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 2D Platformer, Action, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 19,474 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $480, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. Nearly all of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Platformer with a different second tag, 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

Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M Adorables 2016 · $452k Zad Archery 2026 · $168k Tools Up! Ultimate Edition 2024 · $117k IGNOBLE 2026 · $69k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Adorables older $29.99 502 80% 15k $452k (exactly $451,649) White Rabbit
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Tools Up! Ultimate Edition older $34.99 111 76% 3.3k $117k (exactly $116,517) The Knights of Unity
IGNOBLE $6.99 331 82% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) Retromagine
With Your Coworker $0.99 1,220 82% 37k $36k (exactly $36,234) 搖滾冰塊
Tap Heroes older $2.99 402 67% 12k $36k (exactly $36,059) VaragtP
Erotic Clicker $5.99 141 71% 4.2k $25k (exactly $25,338) Ero Echo Studio
DGGWare $8.99 66 93% 2.0k $18k (exactly $17,800) Silkworm
Horse Plinko $4.99 47 89% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) Crawley, Womp
Space Candy older $4.99 47 72% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) High and Wide
Blastermancer $9.99 18 100% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) NeoGeeJoe
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Dirtnap · EA $7.99 19 84% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Unstable Entity, Part Time Monkey, Nitr… (Unstable Entity, Part Time Monkey, Nitroyale)

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