Do I ship it?

Games › Survival › Survival + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Survival game?

Survival + Puzzle Platformer

Of 39 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer Survival game 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.. 62 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 22 developers shipped in the last year and 62 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 62 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $359 → $898 → $2.1k → $299 → $210 → $269 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 5% $58k (exactly $58,277)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 176
Announced 62
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 down 40% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival, Puzzle Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.49 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.49 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 98% positive over 6,902 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $58k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

FAR: Lone Sails 2018 · $11M Haydee 2016 · $2.8M Praey for the Gods 2021 · $2.2M Öoo 2025 · $2.0M The Eternal Cylinder 2022 · $874k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FAR: Lone Sails older $14.99 24,474 95% 734k $11M (exactly $11,005,958) Okomotive
Haydee older $14.99 6,226 84% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,832) Haydee Interactive
Praey for the Gods older $29.99 2,489 82% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,239,353) No Matter Studios
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
The Eternal Cylinder older $24.99 1,166 89% 35k $874k (exactly $874,150) ACE Team
BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition older $9.99 2,801 86% 84k $839k (exactly $839,460) Frogmind
Disc Room older $14.99 957 92% 29k $430k (exactly $430,363) Terri, Dose, Kitty, JW
Black The Fall older $14.99 787 79% 24k $354k (exactly $353,914) Sand Sailor Studio
Robinson: The Journey older $19.99 522 56% 16k $313k (exactly $313,043) Crytek
PLANET ALPHA older $9.99 631 76% 19k $189k (exactly $189,111) Planet Alpha ApS
Inferno Protocol · EA $13.49 144 79% 4.3k $58k (exactly $58,277) Tektonic Interactive
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
You see me? $5.99 55 63% 1.7k $9.9k (exactly $9,884) Zeneki
Good Luck $4.99 42 69% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Happybara Games
LINK Penguins $5.99 31 87% 930 $5.6k (exactly $5,571) lemorion_1224
Hannah $19.99 8 87% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) Spaceboy
SNOWY MEMORIES $4.99 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) quan home
THE BREAKFIVE $6.99 10 60% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Nanjing Baiku Network Technology Co., L… (Nanjing Baiku Network Technology Co., Ltd)
Mental State. Game One $4.99 9 100% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Dreaman

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