Games › Platformer › Platformer + Music
Should I ship a Music Platformer?
Platformer + Music
Of 30 developers who shipped a Music 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×269 the market median. Revenue is up 2900% on the market; 50 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $600 (exactly $600) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) |
| Top 5% | $128k (exactly $127,715) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 175 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 2900% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Music
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Colorful, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 1,305 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M 
Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ 2014 · $11M 
Rayman® Legends 2013 · $10M 
In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | Hi-Fi RUSH | older | $29.99 | 27,454 97% | 824k | $25M (exactly $24,700,364) | Tango Gameworks |
| | Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ | older | $14.99 | 24,468 95% | 734k | $11M (exactly $11,003,260) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| | Rayman® Legends | older | $29.99 | 11,420 89% | 343k | $10M (exactly $10,274,574) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
 | Wandersong | older | $19.99 | 2,185 96% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) | Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, A Shell in… (Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, A Shell in the Pit) |
 | Melody's Escape | older | $9.99 | 4,336 92% | 130k | $1.3M (exactly $1,299,499) | Icetesy |
 | The Artful Escape | older | $19.99 | 1,801 91% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) | Beethoven and Dinosaur |
 | FRAMED Collection | older | $9.99 | 2,336 94% | 70k | $700k (exactly $700,099) | Loveshack Entertainment |
 | Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story™ | older | $9.99 | 2,238 79% | 67k | $671k (exactly $670,729) | Choice Provisions |
 | Mr. Sleepy Man | $19.99 | 636 98% | 19k | $381k (exactly $381,409) | Devin Santi | |
 | Melody's Escape 2 | $14.99 | 284 95% | 8.5k | $128k (exactly $127,715) | Icetesy | |
 | Nientum - Op.ZERO | · EA | $19.99 | 159 98% | 4.8k | $95k (exactly $95,352) | QueseraGames |
 | Magic Tiny Lands | $29.99 | 86 90% | 2.6k | $77k (exactly $77,374) | Galactic Geckon | |
 | Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia | $24.99 | 28 100% | 840 | $21k (exactly $20,992) | Ocellus Studio | |
 | PixelJunk™ Eden 2 | $14.99 | 23 78% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | Q-Games Ltd. | |
 | After School Afterlife | $7.99 | 34 100% | 1.0k | $8.2k (exactly $8,150) | Mini Bunnies | |
 | A Pinball Game That Makes You Mad | $9.99 | 27 81% | 810 | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) | Azimuth Studios | |
 | The Oneironaut | $14.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Jetebra Games | |
 | BassBlock | $9.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | 贝斯方块工作室 |
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.