Games › Platformer › Platformer + Psychological
Should I ship a Psychological Platformer?
Platformer + Psychological
Of 58 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 119 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×319 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 119 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $149 (exactly $149) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) |
| Top 5% | $152k (exactly $151,646) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 58 |
| Released games | 165 |
| Announced | 119 |
| 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 down 75% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Psychological
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,802 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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
Psychonauts 2 2021 · $22M 
Viewfinder 2023 · $8.9M 
Alice: Madness Returns 2011 · $8.3M 
Antichamber 2013 · $8.2M 
Psychonauts 2006 · $3.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Psychonauts 2 | older | $59.99 | 12,333 95% | 370k | $22M (exactly $22,195,700) | Double Fine Productions |
| | Viewfinder | older | $24.99 | 11,901 94% | 357k | $8.9M (exactly $8,922,180) | Sad Owl Studios |
| | Alice: Madness Returns | older | $9.99 | 27,795 90% | 834k | $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) | Spicy Horse Games |
| | Antichamber | older | $19.99 | 13,656 95% | 410k | $8.2M (exactly $8,189,503) | Alexander Bruce |
| | Psychonauts | older | $9.99 | 12,343 95% | 370k | $3.7M (exactly $3,699,197) | Double Fine Productions |
 | INMOST | older | $14.99 | 5,928 90% | 178k | $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) | Hidden Layer Games |
 | Constance | $19.99 | 2,822 82% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,692,353) | Blue Backpack | |
 | Shady Part of Me | older | $14.99 | 2,554 93% | 77k | $1.1M (exactly $1,148,534) | Douze Dixièmes |
 | The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition | older | $24.99 | 786 71% | 24k | $589k (exactly $589,264) | Plot Twist |
 | Papo & Yo | older | $14.99 | 1,111 94% | 33k | $500k (exactly $499,617) | Minority Media Inc. |
 | PEPPERED: an existential platformer | $14.99 | 603 96% | 18k | $271k (exactly $271,169) | Mostly Games | |
 | Climb The Backrooms | $4.99 | 1,013 81% | 30k | $152k (exactly $151,646) | LovDEV | |
 | ART IS RIFLE | $14.99 | 65 76% | 2.0k | $29k (exactly $29,230) | Arman Pakan | |
 | Death Frame | $14.99 | 57 98% | 1.7k | $26k (exactly $25,633) | EpiXR Games UG | |
 | 1000 Deaths (Thousand Deaths) | $14.99 | 33 87% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Pariah Interactive, Inc. | |
 | Platform | $9.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $13,786) | METAGAR | |
 | Don't Look Behind | $4.99 | 81 58% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $12,126) | Simon Au Yeung | |
 | S.E.M.I. – Side Effects May Include... | $7.99 | 47 78% | 1.4k | $11k (exactly $11,266) | Two Horn Unicorn | |
 | SCREAM NOTE | $7.99 | 35 2% | 1.1k | $8.4k (exactly $8,390) | REAL PLAYERS |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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