Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Puzzle Platformer
Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Souls-like?
Souls-like + Puzzle Platformer
Of 22 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer Souls-like 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.. 49 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×111 the market median. Revenue is up 740% on the market; 49 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $8.9k (exactly $8,869) |
| Top 5% | $166k (exactly $166,433) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 740% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Hack and Slash
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 5,058 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PICO PARK | older | $4.99 | 23,751 91% | 713k | $3.6M (exactly $3,555,525) | TECOPARK |
| | Aeterna Noctis | older | $29.99 | 1,699 76% | 51k | $1.5M (exactly $1,528,590) | Aeternum Game Studios S.L |
| | UNSIGHTED | older | $19.99 | 1,863 93% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,117,241) | Studio Pixel Punk |
| | La-Mulana 2 | older | $24.99 | 818 83% | 25k | $613k (exactly $613,255) | NIGORO |
| | Fever Meme | $4.20 | 4,358 91% | 131k | $549k (exactly $549,108) | Aimbok | |
| | Fallen Tear: The Ascension | · EA | $24.99 | 222 81% | 6.7k | $166k (exactly $166,433) | Winter Crew Studios |
| | Ancient Abyss | · EA older | $14.99 | 163 64% | 4.9k | $73k (exactly $73,301) | Screambox Studio |
| | Reflection of Mine | older | $8.99 | 189 75% | 5.7k | $51k (exactly $50,973) | Redblack Spade |
| | GIGASWORD | $14.99 | 108 75% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | Studio Hybrid | |
| | Driving Is Hard | $6.99 | 200 79% | 6.0k | $42k (exactly $41,940) | Elegant Horse Studios | |
| | Mai: Child of Ages | $14.99 | 34 88% | 1.0k | $15k (exactly $15,290) | Chubby Pixel | |
| | Who Takes The Crown? | $7.99 | 37 83% | 1.1k | $8.9k (exactly $8,869) | devthedoug | |
| | Koloboke: Sickness Simulator | $4.99 | 56 91% | 1.7k | $8.4k (exactly $8,383) | Megame LLC | |
| | ASHGARD: Infinity Mask | · EA | $9.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | ASHGARD GAMES |
| | Crown Of Silence | · EA | $7.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $3.4k (exactly $3,356) | Nyro Interactive |
| | Fart King | $2.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) | SmoochGM |
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.