Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Precision Platformer?

PvE + Precision Platformer

Of 60 developers who shipped a PvE Precision 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 36 developers shipped in the last year and 90 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $179 → $269 → $179 → $239 → $718 → $683 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 5% $76k (exactly $76,449)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 166
Announced 90
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 235% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Precision Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

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 15,318 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $76k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M JUMP KING QUEST 2026 · $541k Decline's Drops 2024 · $76k 4Wheel Challenge 2025 · $49k Treasure Hunters: Raid Together 2026 · $17k
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
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
Decline's Drops $14.99 170 96% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) Le Moulin aux Bulles
4Wheel Challenge $3.99 409 57% 12k $49k (exactly $48,957) LJ3D STUDIOS
Treasure Hunters: Raid Together $9.99 58 84% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) Biax
Pixel Pirate older $24.99 14 78% 420 $10k (exactly $10,496) Stas Paty9mkin
JUNGLE RUNNER older $24.99 12 75% 360 $9.0k (exactly $8,996) Piece Of Voxel
Pain Party older $4.99 60 81% 1.8k $9.0k (exactly $8,982) Icehelm
Lovely Planet Remix older $6.99 41 90% 1.2k $8.6k (exactly $8,598) quicktequila
Agent Murphy older $4.99 47 72% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) xproject
Hyperstacks $19.99 11 90% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) Squirrel Bytes
Knuckle Jet $14.99 13 92% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Rain Games
Dragon Hop $4.99 36 100% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) Dustrider Studios
Velvet $2.99 51 94% 1.5k $4.6k (exactly $4,575) Inspite
Slime Changer $11.99 12 100% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) MoonJourney

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