Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Puzzle Platformer?
Puzzle Platformer + Sci-fi
Of 190 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 368 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 103 developers shipped in the last year and 368 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $74,363) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 190 |
| Released games | 714 |
| Announced | 368 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 15% more developers than 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.
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Puzzle Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Platformer
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 82,306 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 108 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 368 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + Life SimFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + SokobanFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + MetroidvaniaPoor odds
- + SwordplayPoor odds
- + Split ScreenPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
Comparable games
Split Fiction 2025 · $118M 
Portal 2 2011 · $117M 
Portal 2007 · $52M 
The Talos Principle 2 2023 · $11M 
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst 2020 · $8.4M | 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 | |
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
| | Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst | older | $19.99 | 14,078 79% | 422k | $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) | DICE |
 | OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition | older | $24.99 | 8,722 96% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,538,883) | SIGONO INC. |
 | COCOON | older | $24.99 | 7,961 94% | 239k | $6.0M (exactly $5,968,362) | Geometric Interactive |
 | Planet of Lana | older | $19.99 | 9,609 92% | 288k | $5.8M (exactly $5,762,517) | Wishfully |
 | Sable | older | $24.99 | 5,365 86% | 161k | $4.0M (exactly $4,022,140) | Shedworks |
 | Iconoclasts | older | $19.99 | 4,169 86% | 125k | $2.5M (exactly $2,500,149) | Joakim Sandberg |
 | Planet of Lana II | $19.99 | 875 91% | 26k | $525k (exactly $524,738) | Wishfully | |
 | Mind Over Magnet | $9.99 | 1,344 89% | 40k | $403k (exactly $402,797) | Game Maker's Toolkit | |
 | Schrodinger's Cat Burglar | $19.99 | 613 97% | 18k | $368k (exactly $367,616) | Abandoned Sheep | |
 | Star Overdrive | $34.99 | 141 87% | 4.2k | $148k (exactly $148,008) | Caracal Games | |
 | MotionRec | $9.99 | 430 99% | 13k | $129k (exactly $128,871) | HANDSUM | |
 | NODE | $24.99 | 146 91% | 4.4k | $109k (exactly $109,456) | Lapsus Games | |
 | Brave Escape | $19.99 | 145 97% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Hit Start Studios | |
 | Goodboy Galaxy | $24.99 | 110 95% | 3.3k | $82k (exactly $82,467) | Goodboy Galaxy Ltd. | |
 | Exographer | $19.99 | 124 94% | 3.7k | $74k (exactly $74,363) | SciFunGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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