Games › RPG › RPG + Puzzle Platformer
Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer RPG?
RPG + Puzzle Platformer
Of 124 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer RPG 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.. 254 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×180 the market median. Revenue is up 1340% on the market; 254 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) |
| Top 5% | $113k (exactly $113,209) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 124 |
| Released games | 459 |
| Announced | 254 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 up 1340% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- RPG, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Lore-Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 21,423 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 82 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 254 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
Firework 2021 · $12M 
Murders on the Yangtze River 2024 · $7.1M 
Sanfu 2023 · $5.7M 
Farever 2026 · EA · $5.4M 
Sable 2021 · $4.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Firework | older | $9.99 | 41,172 97% | 1.2M | $12M (exactly $12,339,248) | Shiying Studio |
| | Murders on the Yangtze River | older | $14.99 | 15,833 96% | 475k | $7.1M (exactly $7,120,100) | OMEGAMES STUDIO |
| | Sanfu | older | $10.99 | 17,323 82% | 520k | $5.7M (exactly $5,711,393) | Shiying Studio |
| | Farever | · EA | $19.99 | 8,968 75% | 269k | $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) | Shiro Games |
| | Sable | older | $24.99 | 5,365 86% | 161k | $4.0M (exactly $4,022,140) | Shedworks |
 | Hob | older | $19.99 | 4,667 88% | 140k | $2.8M (exactly $2,798,800) | Runic Games |
 | Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story | older | $29.99 | 2,742 94% | 82k | $2.5M (exactly $2,466,977) | Tequila Works |
 | DEEMO -Reborn- | older | $24.99 | 3,188 87% | 96k | $2.4M (exactly $2,390,044) | Rayark International Limited |
 | Threefold Recital | $14.99 | 5,117 98% | 154k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) | Everscape Games | |
 | Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy | older | $29.99 | 2,524 89% | 76k | $2.3M (exactly $2,270,843) | Frozenbyte |
 | SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide | $39.99 | 1,151 93% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) | Purple Lamp | |
 | Scarlet Idol | $7.99 | 2,586 66% | 78k | $620k (exactly $619,864) | 山雨工作室 | |
 | Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise | $15.99 | 1,054 78% | 32k | $506k (exactly $505,604) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Game Of Fate 3：Clash Of Crowns | $16.79 | 734 85% | 22k | $370k (exactly $369,716) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Game of Fate: Chasing Through Time | $10.99 | 986 88% | 30k | $325k (exactly $325,084) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Fallen Tear: The Ascension | · EA | $24.99 | 222 81% | 6.7k | $166k (exactly $166,433) | Winter Crew Studios |
 | Cursed Armor 2 | $15.99 | 236 84% | 7.1k | $113k (exactly $113,209) | wolfgame | |
 | Paper Bride 6 Nightmare | $9.99 | 369 81% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | HeartBeat Plus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.