Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Platformer?

Loot + Platformer

Of 30 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 80 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×1879 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 80 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 80 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $10k → $269 → $2.7k → $26k → $539 → $899 (still earning) → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $6.4k (exactly $6,437)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 106
Announced 80
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 30% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 15,149 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
Farever · EA $19.99 8,968 75% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) Shiro Games
Dungreed older $9.99 8,988 93% 270k $2.7M (exactly $2,693,704) TEAM HORAY
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
Planet Centauri $14.99 2,102 75% 63k $945k (exactly $945,269) Permadeath
Scarlet Maiden older $10.99 2,825 94% 85k $931k (exactly $931,402) Otterside Games
It Lurks Below older $19.99 1,168 81% 35k $700k (exactly $700,450) Graybeard Games
Astalon: Tears of the Earth older $19.99 995 92% 30k $597k (exactly $596,702) LABS Works
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
Bravery and Greed older $19.99 640 78% 19k $384k (exactly $383,808) Rekka Games
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Blood Dungeon $9.99 453 89% 14k $136k (exactly $135,764) Messhof
Queen of treasure isle · EA $8.99 96 94% 2.9k $26k (exactly $25,891) gobou
DigWorld $4.99 43 81% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Edgar IX
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Loot Draggin' $4.99 32 100% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) Crafsson

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