Games › Platformer › Platformer + Visual Novel
Should I ship a Visual Novel Platformer?
Platformer + Visual Novel
Of 44 developers who shipped a Visual Novel 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×7.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $95k, ×201 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $653 (exactly $653) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,032) |
| Top 5% | $95k (exactly $95,352) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 131 |
| Announced | 59 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 up 125% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Platformer, Visual Novel; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 3,894 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different second tag, 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
Night in the Woods 2017 · $11M 
DEAD OR SCHOOL 2019 · $2.0M 
Denshattack! 2026 · $1.7M 
Lost Words: Beyond the Page 2021 · $286k 
GOODBYE WORLD 2022 · $276k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Night in the Woods | older | $19.99 | 17,760 94% | 533k | $11M (exactly $10,650,672) | Infinite Fall |
| | DEAD OR SCHOOL | older | $24.99 | 2,607 84% | 78k | $2.0M (exactly $1,954,468) | Studio Nanafushi |
| | Denshattack! | $19.99 | 2,910 98% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) | Undercoders | |
| | Lost Words: Beyond the Page | older | $14.99 | 637 94% | 19k | $286k (exactly $286,459) | Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State,… (Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State, Sketchbook Games) |
| | GOODBYE WORLD | older | $11.99 | 766 84% | 23k | $276k (exactly $275,530) | YO FUJII |
 | Evan's Remains | older | $6.99 | 1,099 89% | 33k | $230k (exactly $230,460) | maitan69 |
 | Deer & Boy | $19.99 | 370 94% | 11k | $222k (exactly $221,889) | Lifeline Games | |
 | Smash Girls | older | $10.99 | 460 81% | 14k | $152k (exactly $151,662) | 18bitStudio |
 | Nientum - Op.ZERO | · EA | $19.99 | 159 98% | 4.8k | $95k (exactly $95,352) | QueseraGames |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City | $24.99 | 105 76% | 3.2k | $79k (exactly $78,718) | Cortopia Studios | |
 | Beyond the Ice Palace 2 | $19.99 | 77 63% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | STORYBIRD Studio | |
 | Vilde | $15.99 | 87 74% | 2.6k | $42k (exactly $41,734) | Chaotic Minds | |
 | Town of Zoz | $19.99 | 50 70% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Studio Pixanoh | |
 | Forgotlings | $19.99 | 48 79% | 1.4k | $29k (exactly $28,786) | Throughline Games | |
 | Island Off Outer Darkness | $13.99 | 49 100% | 1.5k | $21k (exactly $20,565) | Zugerujk | |
 | Rhya's Crusade: The Aradia's Reavers | $14.99 | 39 66% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,538) | Black Fortress Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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