Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Rhythm

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Rhythm Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Rhythm

Of 25 developers who shipped a Rhythm 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.. 21 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. Revenue is down 60% on the market, with 21 games announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 21 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Rhythm
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $1.5k → $3.0k → $980 → $0 → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Rhythm: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $30,549)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 81
Announced 21
Effort 3 / 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 60% on the market, supply 10% 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.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Rhythm
effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Puzzle Platformer, Rhythm; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, 2D Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Colorful
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 93% positive over 1,160 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $30k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle Platformer with a different second tag, 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

DEEMO -Reborn- 2020 · $2.4M One Hand Clapping 2021 · $394k Zup! X 2018 · $387k Metro Gravity 2025 · $332k 140 2013 · $307k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DEEMO -Reborn- older $24.99 3,188 87% 96k $2.4M (exactly $2,390,044) Rayark International Limited
One Hand Clapping older $14.99 877 84% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Bad Dream Games
Zup! X older $1.99 6,480 96% 194k $387k (exactly $386,856) Quiet River
Metro Gravity $12.99 852 92% 26k $332k (exactly $332,024) mrkogamedev
140 older $4.99 2,054 94% 62k $307k (exactly $307,484) Carlsen Games
Songbird Symphony older $16.99 556 90% 17k $283k (exactly $283,393) Joysteak Studios
Zup! Z older $1.99 4,058 97% 122k $242k (exactly $242,263) Quiet River
Onde older $13.99 236 91% 7.1k $99k (exactly $99,049) Lance, 3-50
Vectronom older $9.99 263 96% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) Ludopium, ARTE France
Octahedron: Transfixed Edition older $12.99 115 93% 3.5k $45k (exactly $44,816) Demimonde
Ultimate Drummer $5.99 170 98% 5.1k $31k (exactly $30,549) Cool 3D World
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
Game Over - A Musical RPG?? $14.99 18 100% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Jake Houston
Songs of the HMong $8.99 11 72% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) 苗歌开发组
PathUp! $6.99 7 85% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) Geghamyan Hrachya
Only Down: Gravitation Up $0.99 33 96% 990 $980 (exactly $980) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel
Easy $1.99 11 100% 330 $657 (exactly $657) Xtreme Games
Satisfying Simulator $6.99 3 100% 90 $629 (exactly $629) Satisfying Simulator

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