Games › Platformer › Platformer + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Platformer?
Platformer + Underground
Of 63 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 108 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $80k, ×170 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 108 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
| Top 25% | $5.1k (exactly $5,074) |
| Top 5% | $81k (exactly $80,946) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 63 |
| Released games | 213 |
| Announced | 108 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, 3D Platformer
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, 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 96% positive over 16,021 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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
White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M 
HAAK 2022 · $1.7M 
Last Train Outta' Wormtown 2025 · $523k 
Shadow Labyrinth 2025 · $249k 
Eye of the Temple 2021 · $235k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
| | HAAK | older | $17.99 | 3,149 89% | 94k | $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) | Blingame |
| | Last Train Outta' Wormtown | $11.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $523k (exactly $522,644) | Get(Color) Games | |
| | Shadow Labyrinth | $29.99 | 277 54% | 8.3k | $249k (exactly $249,217) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. | |
| | Eye of the Temple | older | $19.99 | 392 92% | 12k | $235k (exactly $235,082) | Rune Skovbo Johansen |
 | Ants Took My Eyeball | older | $12.99 | 248 93% | 7.4k | $97k (exactly $96,646) | Bosmic Forge |
 | Ad Fundum | older | $6.99 | 429 93% | 13k | $90k (exactly $89,961) | Oldbut Gold |
 | The Siege and the Sandfox | $14.99 | 180 64% | 5.4k | $81k (exactly $80,946) | Cardboard Sword | |
 | Ikarus Parkour | $12.99 | 195 81% | 5.9k | $76k (exactly $75,992) | Vanja Aleksić | |
 | PERFECT CELLS PROJECT | older | $9.99 | 226 79% | 6.8k | $68k (exactly $67,732) | ShinshiMoustache |
 | THE CANON OF BALLS | $3.99 | 287 98% | 8.6k | $34k (exactly $34,354) | Helios Monk | |
 | Soulbind: Tales Of The Underworld | $7.99 | 88 73% | 2.6k | $21k (exactly $21,094) | Rubedo Games | |
 | Antro | $14.99 | 42 92% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | Gatera Studio | |
 | Stretcher Together | $4.99 | 116 47% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | Goosix Games | |
 | Rusty Rangers | $14.99 | 27 88% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Fantastica! |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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