Do I ship it?

Games › Survival › Survival + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Survival game?

Survival + Platformer

Of 99 developers who shipped a Platformer Survival game 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.. 155 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 53 developers shipped in the last year and 155 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 155 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 99
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $629 → $90 → $809 → $356 → $430 → $360 → $356 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 99
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,328)
Top 5% $523k (exactly $522,644)
Developers, 2 yr 99
Released games 472
Announced 155
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 25% on the market, supply 15% more 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival, Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 17,120 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $520k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 155 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Terraria 2011 · $372M Rain World 2017 · $35M FAR: Lone Sails 2018 · $11M DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 2019 · $10M Risk of Rain (2013) 2013 · $6.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terraria older $9.99 1,240,388 97% 37M $372M (exactly $371,744,284) Re-Logic
Rain World older $24.99 46,871 94% 1.4M $35M (exactly $35,139,189) Videocult
FAR: Lone Sails older $14.99 24,474 95% 734k $11M (exactly $11,005,958) Okomotive
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 older $49.99 6,888 92% 207k $10M (exactly $10,329,934) Square Enix, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Risk of Rain (2013) older $9.99 20,768 93% 623k $6.2M (exactly $6,224,170) Hopoo Games
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
Deadlight older $14.99 9,386 78% 282k $4.2M (exactly $4,220,884) Tequila Works, S.L.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree $39.99 3,026 75% 91k $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) Primal Game Studio
The Final Station older $14.99 6,739 88% 202k $3.0M (exactly $3,030,528) DO MY BEST
Valley older $14.99 6,276 91% 188k $2.8M (exactly $2,822,317) Blue Isle Studios
Revenge of the Savage Planet $29.99 2,845 86% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
Pratfall $7.99 2,797 90% 84k $670k (exactly $670,441) Quad Head
Last Train Outta' Wormtown $11.99 1,453 96% 44k $523k (exactly $522,644) Get(Color) Games
Kentum $17.99 172 75% 5.2k $93k (exactly $92,828) Tlön Industries
Sausage Hunter · EA $4.99 125 88% 3.8k $19k (exactly $18,712) Banger Chasers
Platform $9.99 46 73% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) METAGAR
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
You see me? $5.99 55 63% 1.7k $9.9k (exactly $9,884) Zeneki

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