Do I ship it?

Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Logic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Logic Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Logic

Of 20 developers who shipped a Logic Metroidvania 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.0k, ×15 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×608 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Logic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $46k → $10k → $17k → $19k → $2.3k (still earning) → $270 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Logic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $2.0k (exactly $1,977)
Median $7.0k (exactly $7,036)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $31,029)
Top 5% $289k (exactly $288,804)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 45
Announced 43
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.00

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 70% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Metroidvania, Logic; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$8.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Nonlinear, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 1,470 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $7.0k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Leap Year 2024 · $458k Haydee 3 2025 · $289k Teslagrad 2 2023 · $251k The Holy Gosh Darn 2024 · $166k Lingo 2 2025 · $133k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Leap Year older $4.99 3,060 96% 92k $458k (exactly $458,082) Daniel Linssen
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
Teslagrad 2 older $19.99 419 76% 13k $251k (exactly $251,274) Rain Games
The Holy Gosh Darn $19.99 276 96% 8.3k $166k (exactly $165,517) Perfectly Paranormal
Lingo 2 $9.99 443 93% 13k $133k (exactly $132,767) Brenton Wildes
Teslagrad Remastered older $9.99 210 81% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,937) Rain Games
Lord Ambermaze $14.99 131 91% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Potata Company
Temple Of Snek older $14.99 102 90% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) Aetheric Games
Kharon's Crypt - Even Death May Die older $14.99 87 96% 2.6k $39k (exactly $39,124) Hebi Lee
Sudoku Mansion $14.99 69 98% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) Vault Door Studios
Sliding Hero $14.99 42 88% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Silent Chicken
Glowkeeper $14.99 42 97% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) oolimry, bucketfish
Space Sprouts $10.99 51 96% 1.5k $17k (exactly $16,815) Schleuder Games
Rhombus $4.99 48 97% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) Axel Born
Only Sliding $4.99 47 91% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) Portponky

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