Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Underground

Of 21 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 42 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $18k, ×40 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 42 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 42 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $1.4k → $3.6k → $1.9k → $4.6k → $449 → $359 (still earning) → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,936)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $18,887)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 84
Announced 42
Effort 4 / 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 45% on the market, supply 100% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2.5D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 341 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $750, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

HAAK 2022 · $1.7M The Ball 2010 · $249k Eye of the Temple 2021 · $235k The Cave Diver 2026 · $37k Antro 2025 · $19k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
The Ball older $9.99 830 74% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Teotl Studios
Eye of the Temple older $19.99 392 92% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Rune Skovbo Johansen
The Cave Diver $9.99 122 75% 3.7k $37k (exactly $36,563) Ovsko
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
The soldier in the mine older $4.99 91 52% 2.7k $14k (exactly $13,623) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
DeMagnete VR older $19.99 22 81% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) BitCake Studio
Path of Sacrifice older $3.99 99 92% 3.0k $12k (exactly $11,850) 谜之老六
The 18th Floor older $14.99 26 53% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Aoga Games
Pyramid Runner older $8.99 26 100% 780 $7.0k (exactly $7,012) Kuzmin Nikolay
Blockmind · EA $1.99 115 78% 3.5k $6.9k (exactly $6,866) Quacky Games
Orphans $16.99 9 55% 270 $4.6k (exactly $4,587) Infinity Gears Studios
Plungeez $9.99 10 100% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Team Zeroth
HomeNaut $6.99 14 100% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Origami Sword
Imperial Settlers: Imperial Miners $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) infoexpert games
Whitematter $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Exothermic Games
Portal Walk $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Art&Fact
There's Nothing Underground $7.99 7 100% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Palomar Games AB

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