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Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Management game?
Management + Puzzle Platformer
Of 26 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer Management game 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.. 20 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $90, ×0.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper, while revenue is down 55% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $90 (exactly $90) |
| Top 25% | $1.3k (exactly $1,319) |
| Top 5% | $15k (exactly $15,467) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 20 |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- 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
- Management, Puzzle Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 245 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Train Valley 2 2019 · $1.1M 
I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 2020 · $1.0M 
Dwarrows 2020 · $87k 
Ready, Steady, Ship! 2024 · $46k 
Streaming ON! VTuber Training 2025 · $22k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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) |
| | I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 | older | $59.99 | 566 79% | 17k | $1.0M (exactly $1,018,630) | TechnoBrain |
| | Dwarrows | older | $29.99 | 97 69% | 2.9k | $87k (exactly $87,271) | Lithic Entertainment Inc. |
| | Ready, Steady, Ship! | older | $14.99 | 103 66% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $46,319) | Jollybits Games |
| | Streaming ON! VTuber Training | $6.99 | 105 65% | 3.2k | $22k (exactly $22,018) | Momentum Games | |
 | It's On The Mouse | $11.99 | 43 81% | 1.3k | $15k (exactly $15,467) | XryEcho | |
 | Polar Penguin Post | · EA older | $15.99 | 25 92% | 750 | $12k (exactly $11,992) | Little Lemon Bulb |
 | Oik 4 | older | $0.99 | 336 83% | 10k | $10k (exactly $9,979) | Crew Lab |
 | 버튜버 파라노이아 - Vtuber Paranoia | $14.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $8.1k (exactly $8,095) | 유진게임즈 | |
 | Pocket and Zooom | $15.99 | 16 75% | 480 | $7.7k (exactly $7,675) | TechnoBrain | |
 | Mimir’s Roulette | $4.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $4.2k (exactly $4,192) | Momentum Games | |
 | Lust Arena | $9.99 | 10 20% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | HFTGames | |
 | Joe Adventure | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | Napless Interactive | |
 | Golden Arrow | $10.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.3k (exactly $1,319) | Inblue Games | |
 | Satisfying Simulator | $6.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $629 (exactly $629) | Satisfying Simulator | |
 | Time and Space Legacy | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Maxime Schadkowski |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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