Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Incremental

Of 52 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 25 developers shipped in the last year and 56 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $776 → $89 → $120 → $148 → $1.3k → $150 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $839 (exactly $839)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $22,018)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 202
Announced 56
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 80% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Puzzle 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
Puzzle Platformer, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Exploration, Hidden Object
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 939 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $180, 1 in 4 over $830, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle Platformer with a different second tag, 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

Moncage 2021 · $2.3M Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love 2022 · $262k Long Dream 2023 · $202k Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes 2023 · $182k Paper Bride 4 Bound Love 2023 · $164k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moncage older $14.99 5,127 92% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,305,612) Optillusion
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
Long Dream older $6.99 962 98% 29k $202k (exactly $201,731) WildMonkey
Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes older $9.99 606 84% 18k $182k (exactly $181,618) HeartBeat Plus
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love older $9.99 547 77% 16k $164k (exactly $163,936) HeartBeat Plus
Zup! Zero older $1.99 2,572 93% 77k $154k (exactly $153,548) Quiet River
Grindstone older $19.99 244 93% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) Capybara Games
坏小孩 older $2.99 1,586 95% 48k $142k (exactly $142,264) WildMonkey
Paper Bride 6 Nightmare $9.99 369 81% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) HeartBeat Plus
Akin older $4.99 498 86% 15k $75k (exactly $74,551) ThinkOfGames
春泥 Soil of Rebirth $9.99 216 73% 6.5k $65k (exactly $64,735) 午夜说书人
Streaming ON! VTuber Training $6.99 105 65% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,018) Momentum Games
Bauhaus Bonk $7.99 73 100% 2.2k $17k (exactly $17,498) Spoonful Games
My Sweet Summer $2.99 56 85% 1.7k $5.0k (exactly $5,023) Rabro
100 Cats Lost In World Find & Color $4.99 28 96% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Two Cats Games
三九 $5.99 17 64% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) 暗极工坊
Sin hotel $2.99 32 90% 960 $2.9k (exactly $2,870) Inspite
Where wh..? $4.99 19 78% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) Pita Game
Tidying Simulator $2.99 24 83% 720 $2.2k (exactly $2,153) GamJangJangi

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