Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzle PlatformerPuzzle Platformer + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Psychological Horror

Of 131 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 178 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 $970, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×286 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 178 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 178 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 131
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $2.4k → $1.2k → $1.8k → $1.4k → $899 → $1.4k (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 131
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $971 (exactly $971)
Top 25% $8.9k (exactly $8,869)
Top 5% $136k (exactly $135,764)
Developers, 2 yr 131
Released games 362
Announced 178
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.60

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 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 Horror
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Action
Price point
$5.60 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.60.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 86,211 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 $970, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 82 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 178 games are announced against 56 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Little Nightmares II older $29.99 50,280 92% 1.5M $45M (exactly $45,236,916) Tarsier Studios
Little Nightmares older $19.99 52,184 94% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,294,745) Tarsier Studios
Superliminal older $19.99 28,428 94% 853k $17M (exactly $17,048,272) Pillow Castle
Firework older $9.99 41,172 97% 1.2M $12M (exactly $12,339,248) Shiying Studio
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
Catherine Classic older $19.99 8,858 88% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,312,143) ATLUS
INMOST older $14.99 5,928 90% 178k $2.7M (exactly $2,665,822) Hidden Layer Games
The Swapper older $14.99 5,065 93% 152k $2.3M (exactly $2,277,730) Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert,… (Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert, Carlo Castellano)
DARQ: Complete Edition older $19.99 3,575 94% 107k $2.1M (exactly $2,143,928) Unfold Games
Bye Sweet Carole $24.99 1,039 72% 31k $779k (exactly $778,938) Little Sewing Machine
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
Metro Gravity $12.99 852 92% 26k $332k (exactly $332,024) mrkogamedev
BOKURA: planet $5.49 1,459 74% 44k $240k (exactly $240,297) tokoronyori
FUTA RUNNER: Big Dick Edition $6.99 733 66% 22k $154k (exactly $153,710) Evil Boobs Cult
LOVE ETERNAL $9.99 453 96% 14k $136k (exactly $135,764) brlka
Paper Bride 6 Nightmare $9.99 369 81% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) HeartBeat Plus
Moving Houses $13.99 232 72% 7.0k $97k (exactly $97,370) Gordon Little
Ayasa: Shadows of Silence $24.99 110 74% 3.3k $82k (exactly $82,467) Aya Games

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