Do I ship it?

GamesPlatformerPlatformer + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Platformer?

Platformer + Western

Only 9 developers shipped a Western Platformer in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Last Train Outta' Wormtown, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×832 the market median. Revenue is up 915% on the market; 20 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 915% on the market, 20 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Platformer + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $19,424)
Top 5% $523k (exactly $522,644)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 41
Announced 20
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 915% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Western
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Platformer
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

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

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 15,308 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $900, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $520k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
SteamWorld Dig 2 older $19.99 5,700 95% 171k $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) Image & Form Games
SteamWorld Dig older $9.99 6,509 94% 195k $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) Image & Form Games
Last Train Outta' Wormtown $11.99 1,453 96% 44k $523k (exactly $522,644) Get(Color) Games
They Always Run older $9.99 770 78% 23k $231k (exactly $230,769) Alawar
Gunman Clive older $1.99 602 89% 18k $36k (exactly $35,939) Hörberg Productions
The Prisoning: Fletcher's Quest $14.99 53 88% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) Elden Pixels
Luckslinger older $9.99 78 73% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,377) Duckbridge
Rose and Locket $11.99 54 92% 1.6k $19k (exactly $19,424) Whistling Wizard
Blood will be Spilled older $5.99 66 66% 2.0k $12k (exactly $11,860) Doublequote Studio
Bibi & Tina - Adventures with Horses older $14.99 23 43% 690 $10k (exactly $10,343) Independent Arts Software
Kero Kero Cowboy $9.99 17 100% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) MetagameMike
Revolvermen $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Oskar Wetterbrandt
Epic Game Maker $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Electricpunch
Spider Canyon $2.99 2 100% 60 $179 (exactly $179) GrilledBlueTuna, Nathan Lapp
The Watcher $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Sai Game
Olive Raiders · EA $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) THGames1984

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