Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Precision Platformer
Should I ship a Precision Platformer Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Precision Platformer
Of 58 developers who shipped a Precision Platformer 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.. 136 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×9.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×418 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 136 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $958 (exactly $958) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.3k (exactly $4,341) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,089) |
| Top 5% | $199k (exactly $198,747) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 58 |
| Released games | 177 |
| Announced | 136 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Precision Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania, Precision Platformer; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Platformer, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 6,635 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown 2024 · $6.1M 
MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M 
Aeterna Noctis 2021 · $1.5M 
The End Is Nigh 2017 · $1.5M 
Blue Fire 2021 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Prince of Persia The Lost Crown | older | $29.99 | 6,754 84% | 203k | $6.1M (exactly $6,076,574) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| | MIO: Memories in Orbit | $19.99 | 4,300 83% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) | Douze Dixièmes | |
| | Aeterna Noctis | older | $29.99 | 1,699 76% | 51k | $1.5M (exactly $1,528,590) | Aeternum Game Studios S.L |
| | The End Is Nigh | older | $14.99 | 3,291 93% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,479,963) | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel |
| | Blue Fire | older | $19.99 | 1,908 83% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,144,228) | Robi Studios |
 | VVVVVV | older | $4.99 | 6,657 96% | 200k | $997k (exactly $996,553) | Terry Cavanagh |
 | Rusted Moss | older | $19.99 | 1,575 88% | 47k | $945k (exactly $944,527) | Emlise, happysquared, sunnydaze |
 | Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus | older | $19.99 | 1,398 82% | 42k | $838k (exactly $838,381) | Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair,… (Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist) |
 | Unbound: Worlds Apart | older | $19.99 | 1,200 82% | 36k | $720k (exactly $719,640) | Alien Pixel Studios |
 | La-Mulana 2 | older | $24.99 | 818 83% | 25k | $613k (exactly $613,255) | NIGORO |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile | |
 | BAIONLENJA | · EA | $12.99 | 510 97% | 15k | $199k (exactly $198,747) | BAION |
 | Before I Go | $19.99 | 79 83% | 2.4k | $47k (exactly $47,376) | J's Labratory | |
 | Derelict Star | $9.99 | 155 94% | 4.7k | $46k (exactly $46,454) | gate | |
 | Beyond the Ice Palace 2 | $19.99 | 77 63% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | STORYBIRD Studio | |
 | Aggelos 2 | $19.99 | 61 73% | 1.8k | $37k (exactly $36,582) | WONDERBOY BOBI | |
 | Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists | $9.99 | 113 84% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $33,866) | Neckbolt | |
 | Maseylia : Echoes of the Past | $16.99 | 61 80% | 1.8k | $31k (exactly $31,092) | Sol Brothers | |
 | Beholgar 2 | $11.99 | 77 80% | 2.3k | $28k (exactly $27,697) | Serkan Bakar |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.