Do I ship it?

Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Precision Platformer Sandbox?

Sandbox + Precision Platformer

Of 30 developers who shipped a Precision Platformer Sandbox 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.. 21 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is flat on the market; 21 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 21 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $5.8k → $1.1k → $839 → $3.8k → $390 (still earning) → $657 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $537 (exactly $537)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 5% $8.2k (exactly $8,234)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 79
Announced 21
Effort 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
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
Sandbox, Precision Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, 2D
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 94% positive over 431 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $540, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $8.2k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. Nearly all of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tchia 2024 · $514k Best Forklift Operator 2022 · $134k Rocket Boots Mania 2025 · $103k Pro Gymnast Simulator 2020 · $47k Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity 2024 · $47k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tchia older $29.99 571 89% 17k $514k (exactly $513,729) Awaceb
Best Forklift Operator older $19.99 224 75% 6.7k $134k (exactly $134,333) Simmersiv
Rocket Boots Mania $14.99 229 99% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Luma Play
Pro Gymnast Simulator older $14.99 105 92% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Walaber Entertainment LLC
Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity older $19.99 78 100% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Sam Atlas
!AnyWay! older $1.99 507 69% 15k $30k (exactly $30,268) EYEFRONT
Halver older $9.99 80 95% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,976) Gologames
There Was A Caveman older $6.99 108 72% 3.2k $23k (exactly $22,648) Nauris Amatnieks
cheapskate · EA $4.99 55 98% 1.7k $8.2k (exactly $8,234) Simple Dev Studio
Bambas! $14.99 15 86% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) DevilishGames
鸿运修仙传 $5.99 34 76% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) 玉米工作室
OrePlant · EA $6.99 21 76% 630 $4.4k (exactly $4,404) Hypercent Inc.
Marble Champions $14.99 9 66% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Luc Versleijen, Neonchimp Games
Blueprint Bob $6.99 18 100% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) Alexander Lahti, Suumpmolk, The LoFi Bo… (Alexander Lahti, Suumpmolk, The LoFi Boi, MrMusicGuy)
Explore Dreams: Dreamcore $12.99 5 80% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Maxwell Play
FLOWORKS · EA $7.99 7 71% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) QUENCH FORGE
BOO! ARE YOU SCARED? $0.99 38 94% 1.1k $1.1k (exactly $1,129) Paphnutius

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