Do I ship it?

GamesPrecision PlatformerPrecision Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Precision Platformer Shoot 'Em Up?

Precision Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 13 developers shipped a Precision Platformer Shoot 'Em Up 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, CLAWPUNK, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $4.7k, ×10 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 19 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Precision Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $2.2k → $1.2k → $2.1k → $1.2k → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Precision Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,079)
Top 5% $4.8k (exactly $4,795)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 85
Announced 19
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 50% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Precision Platformer, Shoot 'Em Up; all of the top 25% also carry 2D Platformer, Action, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Retro, 1980s
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 9 games average 94% positive over 85 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $4.7k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DemonsFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  2. + FPSFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  3. + GothicFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 17 announced
  4. + HorrorFair68 devs · median $1.0k · 69 announced
  5. + Character CustomizationFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  6. + Perma DeathFair46 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  7. + IdlerFair12 devs · median $657 · 6 announced
  8. + Action RoguelikeFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  9. + Time ManipulationFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxFair30 devs · median $537 · 21 announced
  11. + Procedural GenerationFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  12. + RPGFair41 devs · median $449 · 43 announced

All 123 pairs on the Precision Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Downwell older $2.99 7,891 96% 237k $708k (exactly $707,823) Moppin
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story older $29.99 83 87% 2.5k $75k (exactly $74,675) Digital Eclipse
B.I.O.T.A. older $9.99 206 85% 6.2k $62k (exactly $61,738) small bros
Speed Limit older $9.99 136 80% 4.1k $41k (exactly $40,759) Gamechuck
Spidersaurs older $19.99 55 74% 1.7k $33k (exactly $32,984) WayForward
SATAZIUS older $5.99 183 85% 5.5k $33k (exactly $32,885) ASTRO PORT
Presentiment of Death older $14.99 45 71% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) XOCUS
Verlet Ascend older $6.99 75 88% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,728) Sagewind Studio
OmegaBot older $9.99 30 80% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Simon Carny
CLAWPUNK $9.99 16 93% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Kittens in Timespace
CRISIS Command $4.99 17 82% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Saint Pixels Entertainment
POROTO $4.99 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Edu Vasquez
Dragon Dragon Fire Fire Deluxe $4.95 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,079) Zephyrix
Mind Keeper · EA $10.99 6 100% 180 $2.0k (exactly $1,978) Blackwing Games
Gun in a Well $3.99 10 100% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) Michał Gniadek
Blue Flow $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) Zulfu Ulas Sahin
Pang in Time $4.99 1 0% 30 $150 (exactly $150) ZT Pawer LLC
Ain't No Surprise $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Finnsoft
Gun Swinger $15.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Cold North Games

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