Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Science

Of 36 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 23 developers shipped in the last year and 58 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 58 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $105k → $4.5k → $419 → $1.2k → $300 → $179 → $959 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 5% $74k (exactly $74,363)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 124
Announced 58
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 flat on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Science
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; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Physics, Platformer
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 921 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

Portal 2 2011 · $117M Portal 2007 · $52M The Talos Principle 2 2023 · $11M CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k Suicide Guy 2017 · $502k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Suicide Guy older $5.99 2,794 88% 84k $502k (exactly $502,082) Fabio Ferrara
Quantum Conundrum older $8.99 1,758 84% 53k $474k (exactly $474,133) Airtight Games
DEPLOYMENT older $14.99 951 85% 29k $428k (exactly $427,665) Whale Rock Games
Lightmatter older $19.99 691 94% 21k $414k (exactly $414,393) Tunnel Vision Games
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar $19.99 613 97% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) Abandoned Sheep
The Enjenir: The Engineering Physics Building Simulator · EA older $14.99 681 91% 20k $306k (exactly $306,246) PeatyTurf
Exographer $19.99 124 94% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) SciFunGames
Not Sure About That $4.99 76 98% 2.3k $11k (exactly $11,377) Scratch
Trigger of Time $7.99 33 93% 990 $7.9k (exactly $7,910) Pantopie
Solvimus $19.99 11 90% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) Iocus GmbH
Divider Dave $7.99 18 94% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Louis Vidal 'Pignomaster', José-Manuel… (Louis Vidal 'Pignomaster', José-Manuel Girona 'Gringo_Charlatan')
Cube Mind $4.99 25 96% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) David Seco
Cubin $7.99 12 100% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Limsod Games
Whitematter $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Exothermic Games
Bomb Squad $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) International Headquarters

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