Do I ship it?

Games › Platformer › Platformer + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Platformer?

Platformer + Thriller

Of 25 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×6.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×574 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Thriller
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: $5.4k → $3.9k → $4.0k → $6.5k → $1.2k → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $809 (exactly $809)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,144)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,630)
Top 5% $273k (exactly $272,609)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 69
Announced 43
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $8.99

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 65% on the market, supply 10% more 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
Thriller
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 936 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Little Nightmares II 2021 · $45M INMOST 2020 · $2.7M Deliver Us Mars 2023 · $2.0M Lifeless Planet Premier Edition 2014 · $758k Creepy Tale 2020 · $356k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Little Nightmares II older $29.99 50,280 92% 1.5M $45M (exactly $45,236,916) Tarsier Studios
INMOST older $14.99 5,928 90% 178k $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) Hidden Layer Games
Deliver Us Mars older $29.99 2,271 74% 68k $2.0M (exactly $2,043,219) KeokeN Interactive
Lifeless Planet Premier Edition older $9.99 2,529 78% 76k $758k (exactly $757,941) Serenity Forge
Creepy Tale older $4.99 2,378 87% 71k $356k (exactly $355,987) Creepy Brothers
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
Aphelion $29.99 303 63% 9.1k $273k (exactly $272,609) DON'T NOD
Evan's Remains older $6.99 1,099 89% 33k $230k (exactly $230,460) maitan69
Golfing Over It with Alva Majo older $4.99 1,461 75% 44k $219k (exactly $218,712) Majorariatto
Spectral Scream older $9.99 654 78% 20k $196k (exactly $196,004) STOIC Ent.
Death Frame $14.99 57 98% 1.7k $26k (exactly $25,633) EpiXR Games UG
Kejora $17.99 26 76% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) Berangin Creative
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
Doll is Back $8.99 32 56% 960 $8.6k (exactly $8,630) RomaWorks
YinYang Street: Separate Ways $7.99 27 85% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) 彼云工作室
The Mansion of The Macabre $14.99 10 20% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Team Tatou
The Fox Hare Disaster: Chapter One $3.99 33 96% 990 $4.0k (exactly $3,950) Dream Oni, Cosmic Boop, Valorware

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