Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Ninja

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Ninja Platformer?

Platformer + Ninja

Of 34 developers who shipped a Ninja 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.. 66 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×2984 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 66 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 66 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Ninja
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $599 → $270 → $1.5k → $3.8k → $449 → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Ninja: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,348)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,838)
Top 5% $1.9M (exactly $1,874,250)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 208
Announced 66
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 2D Platformer, Action, Combat
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,628 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $1.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  2. + PinballStrong odds10 devs · median $2.5k · 6 announced
  3. + Combat RacingFair28 devs · median $899 · 38 announced
  4. + FMVFair9 devs · median $899 · 10 announced
  5. + SimulationFair281 devs · median $628 · 235 announced
  6. + Grid-Based MovementFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  7. + AutomationFair13 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced
  9. + LGBTQ+Poor odds42 devs · median $7.2k · 90 announced
  10. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds32 devs · median $6.5k · 90 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds14 devs · median $5.8k · 38 announced
  12. + SkateboardingPoor odds14 devs · median $4.8k · 23 announced

All 206 pairs on the Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Katana ZERO 2019 · $30M The Messenger 2018 · $6.4M Mark of the Ninja: Remastered 2018 · $3.9M SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance 2025 · $3.2M NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound 2025 · $1.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Katana ZERO older $14.99 66,341 97% 2.0M $30M (exactly $29,833,548) Askiisoft
The Messenger older $19.99 10,711 92% 321k $6.4M (exactly $6,423,387) Sabotage
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered older $19.99 6,584 95% 198k $3.9M (exactly $3,948,425) Klei Entertainment
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance $29.99 3,564 83% 107k $3.2M (exactly $3,206,531) SEGA, Lizardcube
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound $24.99 2,500 92% 75k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,250) The Game Kitchen
N++ (NPLUSPLUS) older $14.99 2,825 95% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,270,402) Metanet Software Inc.
The LEGO® NINJAGO® Movie Video Game older $19.99 1,916 86% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,149,025) Traveller's Tales, TT Games
Mini Ninjas older $9.99 3,682 90% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) IO Interactive
STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜® older $14.99 2,167 83% 65k $975k (exactly $974,500) Double Helix Games, Capcom
Super House of Dead Ninjas older $19.99 1,470 96% 44k $882k (exactly $881,559) Megadev
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Haneda Girl $14.99 74 94% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Studio Koba
Ninja Ming $9.99 59 94% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) 1 Poss Studio
Atomic Owl $12.99 30 90% 900 $12k (exactly $11,691) Monster Theater
Project Chameleon $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Anonymous King
Ninja Brigade feat. Jonah Weingarten $12.99 11 90% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,287) Impawsible Games
Street Cleaner 3 $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) Creaky Lantern Games
Ninja Five-O $24.99 5 80% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) Limited Run Games, Inc.

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