Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Score Attack

Of 93 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 50 developers shipped in the last year and 74 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 74 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 93
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $449 → $718 → $748 → $269 → $148 → $180 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 93
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 5% $29k (exactly $28,790)
Developers, 2 yr 93
Released games 271
Announced 74
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 40% on the market, supply 15% more 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Platformer, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 5,363 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $28k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 50 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

ANTONBLAST 2024 · $2.4M Wuppo: Definitive Edition 2016 · $2.2M TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- 2025 · $457k YEAH! YOU WANT "THOSE GAMES," RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET'S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! 2023 · $380k hololive Treasure Mountain 2024 · $237k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ANTONBLAST $19.99 3,943 95% 118k $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) Summitsphere
Wuppo: Definitive Edition older $14.99 4,949 94% 148k $2.2M (exactly $2,225,565) snekflat
TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- $24.99 610 87% 18k $457k (exactly $457,317) ARIKA
YEAH! YOU WANT "THOSE GAMES," RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET'S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! older $9.99 1,268 71% 38k $380k (exactly $380,020) MONKEYCRAFT Co. Ltd.
hololive Treasure Mountain older $8.99 880 97% 26k $237k (exactly $237,336) BeXide Inc.
Fruit Mountain older $8.99 545 98% 16k $147k (exactly $146,986) BeXide Inc.
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Hexologic older $4.99 684 96% 21k $102k (exactly $102,395) MythicOwl
On Rusty Trails older $14.99 176 87% 5.3k $79k (exactly $79,147) Black Pants Studio
Crystal Caves HD older $7.99 319 98% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Emberheart Games
Randomice $12.99 98 94% 2.9k $38k (exactly $38,191) Videoludid
SNOW BROS. SPECIAL: ANNIVERSARY EDITION $29.99 32 78% 960 $29k (exactly $28,790) CRT GAMES
Parking Together! $9.99 88 95% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) ENGAWA GAMES
Touhou Yukkuri Mountain $14.99 51 90% 1.5k $23k (exactly $22,935) BeXide Inc.
DeadCore Redux $14.99 46 93% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) 5 Bits Games
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Caromble! $12.99 34 73% 1.0k $13k (exactly $13,250) Crimson Owl Studios

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