Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Platformer
Should I ship a Perma Death Platformer?
Perma Death + Platformer
Of 81 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $38k, ×81 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 90 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $779 (exactly $779) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) |
| Top 5% | $39k (exactly $38,592) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 81 |
| Released games | 323 |
| Announced | 90 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Perma Death, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 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 $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 14,746 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Spelunky 2 2020 · $12M 
Crab Champions 2023 · EA · $8.0M 
White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M 
Spelunky 2013 · $6.6M 
Risk of Rain (2013) 2013 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Spelunky 2 | older | $19.99 | 19,736 93% | 592k | $12M (exactly $11,835,679) | Mossmouth, BlitWorks |
| | Crab Champions | · EA older | $9.99 | 26,546 97% | 796k | $8.0M (exactly $7,955,836) | Noisestorm |
| | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
| | Spelunky | older | $14.99 | 14,676 92% | 440k | $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) | Mossmouth |
| | Risk of Rain (2013) | older | $9.99 | 20,768 93% | 623k | $6.2M (exactly $6,224,170) | Hopoo Games |
 | Astral Ascent | older | $24.99 | 5,408 94% | 162k | $4.1M (exactly $4,054,378) | Hibernian Workshop |
 | Vagante | older | $14.99 | 4,118 90% | 124k | $1.9M (exactly $1,851,865) | Nuke Nine |
 | Magicite | older | $9.99 | 5,802 85% | 174k | $1.7M (exactly $1,738,859) | Sean Young |
 | 30XX | older | $19.99 | 2,514 90% | 75k | $1.5M (exactly $1,507,646) | Batterystaple Games |
 | ScourgeBringer | older | $16.99 | 2,642 87% | 79k | $1.3M (exactly $1,346,627) | Flying Oak Games, E-Studio |
 | PEPPERED: an existential platformer | $14.99 | 603 96% | 18k | $271k (exactly $271,169) | Mostly Games | |
 | Aura of Worlds | $14.99 | 101 96% | 3.0k | $45k (exactly $45,420) | Cognitive Forge | |
 | Only Way is Down | $9.99 | 137 63% | 4.1k | $41k (exactly $41,059) | Jilted Generation Productions | |
 | Corebreaker | · EA | $7.99 | 161 92% | 4.8k | $39k (exactly $38,592) | aQuadiun |
 | Parking Together! | $9.99 | 88 95% | 2.6k | $26k (exactly $26,374) | ENGAWA GAMES | |
 | Horny Haunts | $4.99 | 118 56% | 3.5k | $18k (exactly $17,665) | Naelstrof, Raliv, BigCozyOrca, Eugene | |
 | Nomyou | $11.99 | 39 56% | 1.2k | $14k (exactly $14,028) | Kudalyn's Creations | |
 | Rusty Rangers | $14.99 | 27 88% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Fantastica! | |
 | PixelBoss: Shattered Depths | · EA | $2.99 | 116 75% | 3.5k | $10k (exactly $10,405) | Quacky Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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