Do I ship it?

GamesPrecision PlatformerPrecision Platformer + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Precision Platformer?

Precision Platformer + Underground

Of 24 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 32 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $75k, ×160 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 32 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Precision Platformer + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $1.2k → $629 → $2.5k → $1.4k → $0 (still earning) → $27k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Precision Platformer + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,166)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,234)
Top 5% $76k (exactly $75,992)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 80
Announced 32
Effort 4 / 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 down 55% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Precision Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 3D Platformer, Platformer, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
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 98% positive over 14,041 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $8.2k, 1 in 20 over $75k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Precision Platformer with a different setting or mood, 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
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
Ikarus Parkour $12.99 195 81% 5.9k $76k (exactly $75,992) Vanja Aleksić
RITE older $4.99 326 84% 9.8k $49k (exactly $48,802) Pond Games PTY LTD
THE CANON OF BALLS $3.99 287 98% 8.6k $34k (exactly $34,354) Helios Monk
Train Plus Japan Drive Western Japan Trains! Rapid Service Edition $64.99 14 78% 420 $27k (exactly $27,296) SHINISE GAMES, MFC STUDIO
Verlet Ascend older $6.99 75 88% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,728) Sagewind Studio
WHITE CHOCOLATE $3.99 78 94% 2.3k $9.3k (exactly $9,337) Bakery of Games
cheapskate · EA $4.99 55 98% 1.7k $8.2k (exactly $8,234) Simple Dev Studio
Lantern Bearer older $9.99 27 92% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) kumakare
Thread older $10.99 24 83% 720 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Medow
HOPSHOT $4.99 26 100% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) mysticat
Train Deluxe 2026 Kurakyu $29.99 4 0% 120 $3.6k (exactly $3,599) MFC STUDIO, KOSEI YASUDA
Sombra $5.99 14 92% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) SytoDev
Portal Walk $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Art&Fact

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