Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Platformer?

Platformer + Psychological Horror

Of 240 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 234 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $82k, ×174 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 234 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 234 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 240
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $839 → $1.3k → $1.8k → $1.6k → $2.1k → $987 → $1.2k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 240
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,240)
Top 5% $82k (exactly $82,467)
Developers, 2 yr 240
Released games 667
Announced 234
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 flat on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological Horror
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
Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Precision Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult, Funny, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 108,860 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $82k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 138 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 234 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

Split Fiction 2025 · $118M Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M Little Nightmares II 2021 · $45M Gorilla Tag 2023 · $32M Little Nightmares 2017 · $31M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Geometry Dash older $4.99 595,606 93% 18M $89M (exactly $89,162,218) RobTop Games
Little Nightmares II older $29.99 50,280 92% 1.5M $45M (exactly $45,236,916) Tarsier Studios
Gorilla Tag older $19.99 52,637 93% 1.6M $32M (exactly $31,566,409) Another Axiom Inc.
Little Nightmares older $19.99 52,184 94% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,294,745) Tarsier Studios
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS $49.99 12,178 96% 365k $18M (exactly $18,263,347) Sonic Team
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy older $7.99 75,118 82% 2.3M $18M (exactly $18,005,785) Bennett Foddy
Little Nightmares III $39.99 10,165 46% 305k $12M (exactly $12,194,950) Supermassive Games
Night in the Woods older $19.99 17,760 94% 533k $11M (exactly $10,650,672) Infinite Fall
Sonic Forces older $39.99 6,742 61% 202k $8.1M (exactly $8,088,377) Sonic Team, Hardlight
VHOLUME $8.00 2,992 97% 90k $718k (exactly $718,080) Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin)
Super Meat Boy 3D $24.99 828 87% 25k $621k (exactly $620,752) Sluggerfly, Team Meat
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
Egging On $14.99 747 74% 22k $336k (exactly $335,926) Egobounds
Ambidextro $7.99 1,334 98% 40k $320k (exactly $319,760) Majorariatto
FISH · EA $9.99 583 94% 17k $175k (exactly $174,725) dmcaguy
LOVE ETERNAL $9.99 453 96% 14k $136k (exactly $135,764) brlka

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