Do I ship it?

Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Precision Platformer?

Perma Death + Precision Platformer

Of 46 developers who shipped a Perma Death Precision 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.. 31 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 31 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 31 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Perma Death + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $807 → $891 → $479 → $356 → $1.2k → $718 → $719 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Perma Death + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $41,059)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 134
Announced 31
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 25% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Perma Death
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Perma Death, Precision Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 14,328 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $720, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Perma Death with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Strong odds15 devs · median $55k · 7 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair49 devs · median $10k · 57 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair65 devs · median $8.1k · 66 announced
  4. + Creature CollectorFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  5. + Mystery DungeonFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + PiratesFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 14 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 55 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair27 devs · median $959 · 28 announced
  9. + Time ManagementFair49 devs · median $539 · 66 announced
  10. + Visual NovelFair21 devs · median $538 · 18 announced
  11. + 3D PlatformerFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced
  12. + PuzzleFair107 devs · median $536 · 110 announced

All 164 pairs on the Perma Death page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M BZZZT 2023 · $342k PEPPERED: an existential platformer 2025 · $271k Golfing Over It with Alva Majo 2018 · $219k Golfie 2023 · $148k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
BZZZT older $11.99 952 93% 29k $342k (exactly $342,434) KO.DLL
PEPPERED: an existential platformer $14.99 603 96% 18k $271k (exactly $271,169) Mostly Games
Golfing Over It with Alva Majo older $4.99 1,461 75% 44k $219k (exactly $218,712) Majorariatto
Golfie older $17.99 275 66% 8.3k $148k (exactly $148,418) Triheart Studio
ALTF42 older $7.99 495 75% 15k $119k (exactly $118,652) PUMPKIM
Spirits Abyss older $8.99 414 96% 12k $112k (exactly $111,656) caiys
Only Way is Down $9.99 137 63% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,059) Jilted Generation Productions
Neon older $16.99 55 96% 1.7k $28k (exactly $28,033) Dnovel
Ball Torture older $9.99 90 82% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) SufferSoft
PixelBoss: Shattered Depths · EA $2.99 116 75% 3.5k $10k (exactly $10,405) Quacky Games
Pit Panic $14.99 16 100% 480 $7.2k (exactly $7,195) Flying Rat Studio
Lazy Climbers $4.99 35 68% 1.1k $5.2k (exactly $5,240) Cool Car Studio
CLAWPUNK $9.99 16 93% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Kittens in Timespace
Eldritch Climb: A Cursed Ascent · EA $12.99 12 100% 360 $4.7k (exactly $4,676) Covert Wonders
Mask Around $7.99 17 94% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Rouli
A Difficult Game About Letters $4.99 20 95% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Giorgi Abelashvili, Elene Abelashvili,… (Giorgi Abelashvili, Elene Abelashvili, Giga Putkaradze)

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