Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Precision Platformer Souls-like?

Souls-like + Precision Platformer

Of 49 developers who shipped a Precision Platformer Souls-like 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.. 46 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×361 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 46 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 46 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $2.9k → $1.2k → $898 → $1.1k → $239 → $9.6k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $776 (exactly $776)
Top 25% $8.9k (exactly $8,869)
Top 5% $541k (exactly $540,539)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 143
Announced 46
Effort 7 / 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 140% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Precision Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Adventure, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 10,745 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $780, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  9. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  10. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced
  12. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 19 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Jump King 2019 · $4.8M MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M Aeterna Noctis 2021 · $1.5M Blue Fire 2021 · $1.1M Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus 2024 · $838k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Jump King older $12.99 12,342 90% 370k $4.8M (exactly $4,809,677) Nexile
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
Aeterna Noctis older $29.99 1,699 76% 51k $1.5M (exactly $1,528,590) Aeternum Game Studios S.L
Blue Fire older $19.99 1,908 83% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,144,228) Robi Studios
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus older $19.99 1,398 82% 42k $838k (exactly $838,381) Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair,… (Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist)
Unbound: Worlds Apart older $19.99 1,200 82% 36k $720k (exactly $719,640) Alien Pixel Studios
La-Mulana 2 older $24.99 818 83% 25k $613k (exactly $613,255) NIGORO
Fever Meme $4.20 4,358 91% 131k $549k (exactly $549,108) Aimbok
JUMP KING QUEST $14.99 1,202 88% 36k $541k (exactly $540,539) Nexile
Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU older $19.99 898 82% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Surgent Studios
Outrider Mako $17.99 121 65% 3.6k $65k (exactly $65,304) Asamado Games
Driving Is Hard $6.99 200 79% 6.0k $42k (exactly $41,940) Elegant Horse Studios
THE CANON OF BALLS $3.99 287 98% 8.6k $34k (exactly $34,354) Helios Monk
Maseylia : Echoes of the Past $16.99 61 80% 1.8k $31k (exactly $31,092) Sol Brothers
Beholgar 2 $11.99 77 80% 2.3k $28k (exactly $27,697) Serkan Bakar
Someday Youll Get There(언젠가는 도착해) $7.99 100 97% 3.0k $24k (exactly $23,970) After School Vtuber
LarsGadiel $9.99 39 82% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,688) Diabolical Mind

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