Games › Platformer › Platformer + Western
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.
not enough cohorts to draw
| 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.
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
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Platformer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
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.
What kills games here
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.
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
| 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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