Do I ship it?

GamesPlatformerPlatformer + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Platformer?

Platformer + Romance

Of 25 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 39 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 39 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $179 → $5.2k → $8.1k → $4.3k → $898 → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,341)
Top 5% $119k (exactly $118,668)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 78
Announced 39
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 35% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 2D Platformer, Action, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 12,877 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS $49.99 12,178 96% 365k $18M (exactly $18,263,347) Sonic Team
Prince of Persia® older $9.99 3,717 78% 112k $1.1M (exactly $1,113,985) Ubisoft Montreal
Degrees of Separation older $19.99 1,011 80% 30k $606k (exactly $606,297) Moondrop
Romancelvania older $24.99 253 75% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) The Deep End Games
Eternal Hope older $11.99 359 83% 11k $129k (exactly $129,132) Doublehit Games
Kats Trigger · EA $8.99 440 88% 13k $119k (exactly $118,668) GIX
Single By Choice older $7.99 231 90% 6.9k $55k (exactly $55,371) AIROTS, 非魚創意
The Cloud Dream of the Nine older $19.99 63 84% 1.9k $38k (exactly $37,781) Sesisoft
A Fold Apart older $9.99 96 77% 2.9k $29k (exactly $28,771) Lightning Rod Games
Monospaced Lovers $19.99 30 90% 900 $18k (exactly $17,991) Scarlet String Studios
Puppet Team $4.99 112 64% 3.4k $17k (exactly $16,766) Editmode
Smack Monkey $9.99 32 100% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) DrDrub
버튜버 파라노이아 - Vtuber Paranoia $14.99 18 94% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) 유진게임즈
Scuttle Up $4.99 29 93% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Moonside Studios
Nazar $9.99 12 75% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Eray Dinc Studio, Recontact Games
Narea's New Mission $6.99 14 85% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) oneLegNinja
This is Love $7.99 12 100% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Monsterdium Games

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