Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Psychological

Of 62 developers who shipped a Psychological Puzzle 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.. 116 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×66 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 116 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 116 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.1k → $1.5k → $2.2k → $987 → $719 → $150 → $599 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,875)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $31,138)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 163
Announced 116
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 30% on the market, supply 40% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological
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
Puzzle Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
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 78% positive over 2,829 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $31k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceFair41 devs · median $1.5k · 38 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  3. + Life SimFair20 devs · median $657 · 21 announced
  4. + SimulationFair216 devs · median $479 · 181 announced
  5. + Grid-Based MovementFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  6. + SokobanFair51 devs · median $358 · 49 announced
  7. + LovecraftianPoor odds11 devs · median $9.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  9. + MetroidvaniaPoor odds91 devs · median $5.3k · 264 announced
  10. + SwordplayPoor odds8 devs · median $4.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Split ScreenPoor odds24 devs · median $3.6k · 35 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds18 devs · median $3.0k · 80 announced

All 169 pairs on the Puzzle Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Superliminal 2020 · $17M Viewfinder 2023 · $8.9M INMOST 2020 · $2.7M Shady Part of Me 2020 · $1.1M Papo & Yo 2013 · $500k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Superliminal older $19.99 28,428 94% 853k $17M (exactly $17,048,272) Pillow Castle
Viewfinder older $24.99 11,901 94% 357k $8.9M (exactly $8,922,180) Sad Owl Studios
INMOST older $14.99 5,928 90% 178k $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) Hidden Layer Games
Shady Part of Me older $14.99 2,554 93% 77k $1.1M (exactly $1,148,534) Douze Dixièmes
Papo & Yo older $14.99 1,111 94% 33k $500k (exactly $499,617) Minority Media Inc.
Dreaming Sarah older $5.99 2,301 92% 69k $413k (exactly $413,490) Asteristic Game Studio, Anthony Septim
PEPPERED: an existential platformer $14.99 603 96% 18k $271k (exactly $271,169) Mostly Games
My Beautiful Paper Smile older $14.99 353 82% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) Two Star Games
FUTA RUNNER: Big Dick Edition $6.99 733 66% 22k $154k (exactly $153,710) Evil Boobs Cult
Climb The Backrooms $4.99 1,013 81% 30k $152k (exactly $151,646) LovDEV
DEVIL'S WAY $4.99 208 45% 6.2k $31k (exactly $31,138) Rose Game Studio
禁地直播 $4.99 109 88% 3.3k $16k (exactly $16,317) Say Hi Hi
Blueberry $12.49 34 100% 1.0k $13k (exactly $12,740) MELLOW Games
TEAM PANIC $3.99 83 62% 2.5k $9.9k (exactly $9,935) Furko
Particle Hearts $14.99 20 90% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Underwater Fire
Game Over - A Musical RPG?? $14.99 18 100% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Jake Houston
Hannah $19.99 8 87% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) Spaceboy

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