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Should I ship a Level Editor Puzzle Platformer?
Level Editor + Puzzle Platformer
Of 46 developers who shipped a Level Editor 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.. 113 more are announced, ×5.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $210, ×0.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 113 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 100% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $210 (exactly $210) |
| Top 25% | $839 (exactly $839) |
| Top 5% | $12k (exactly $12,225) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 244 |
| Announced | 113 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 30% fewer developers than 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.
- Level Editor
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Platformer, Logic
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 3D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 530 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Portal 2 2011 · $117M 
BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M 
WHAT THE GOLF? 2020 · $2.6M 
N++ (NPLUSPLUS) 2016 · $1.3M 
Train Valley 2 2019 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | BattleBlock Theater® | older | $14.99 | 55,793 97% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,090,112) | The Behemoth |
| | WHAT THE GOLF? | older | $19.99 | 4,324 93% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,593,103) | Triband |
| | N++ (NPLUSPLUS) | older | $14.99 | 2,825 95% | 85k | $1.3M (exactly $1,270,402) | Metanet Software Inc. |
| | Train Valley 2 | older | $14.99 | 2,356 90% | 71k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,493) | Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timof… (Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timofey Shargorodskiy, Flazm) |
 | Marble It Up! Ultra | older | $29.99 | 1,060 93% | 32k | $954k (exactly $953,682) | Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes an… (Blueteak, The Engine Company, Shapes and Lines, Arcturus Interactive, The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild) |
 | SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell | older | $14.99 | 2,050 95% | 62k | $922k (exactly $921,885) | Pine Studio |
 | HUMANITY | older | $29.99 | 488 92% | 15k | $439k (exactly $439,054) | tha ltd., Enhance |
 | GIGA WRECKER | older | $19.99 | 728 76% | 22k | $437k (exactly $436,582) | GAME FREAK inc. |
 | Toki Tori 2+ | older | $14.99 | 749 87% | 22k | $337k (exactly $336,825) | Two Tribes |
 | Ballex²: The Hanging Gardens | $14.99 | 179 95% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Mushreb Games | |
 | Tick Hop | $2.99 | 196 79% | 5.9k | $18k (exactly $17,581) | 小磊又饿又困 | |
 | The Lilliput Workshop | $7.99 | 51 88% | 1.5k | $12k (exactly $12,225) | Cotton Game | |
 | Kinetic | $7.99 | 40 92% | 1.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,588) | Lowraiz Games | |
 | Hyperstacks | $19.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) | Squirrel Bytes | |
 | One S'More | $13.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $5.0k (exactly $5,036) | Kleene Games | |
 | Blueprint Bob | $6.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) | Alexander Lahti, Suumpmolk, The LoFi Bo… (Alexander Lahti, Suumpmolk, The LoFi Boi, MrMusicGuy) | |
 | Klaus Lee - Thunderballs | $12.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $2.7k (exactly $2,728) | NUKKLEAR | |
 | BarrelBots | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | FidgetBear Games | |
 | Water: Transformer | · EA | $3.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) | 海未起明工作室（Dawning Games） |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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