Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Underwater

Only 14 developers shipped an Underwater Puzzle Platformer in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Power Sink, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $11k, ×19 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 25 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 25 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $178 → $4.3k → $1.7k → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $597 (exactly $597)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,695)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $11,692)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 31
Announced 25
Effort 5 / 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 60% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Underwater
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Puzzle Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 167 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 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

FAR: Changing Tides 2022 · $3.0M SILT 2022 · $357k Lumione 2021 · $150k SAMUDRA 2021 · $28k Below The Ocean 2021 · $23k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FAR: Changing Tides older $19.99 5,077 92% 152k $3.0M (exactly $3,044,677) Okomotive
SILT older $14.99 793 79% 24k $357k (exactly $356,612) Spiral Circus Games
Lumione older $11.99 418 73% 13k $150k (exactly $150,355) Glimmer Studio
SAMUDRA older $12.99 73 69% 2.2k $28k (exactly $28,448) Khayalan Arts
Below The Ocean older $5.99 129 99% 3.9k $23k (exactly $23,181) Ismael Rodriguez
Cavern Escape Extremely Hard game!!! older $4.99 127 49% 3.8k $19k (exactly $19,012) White Dog Games
Power Sink $14.99 26 96% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Winterwire Games
Anoxemia older $8.99 43 53% 1.3k $12k (exactly $11,597) BSK Games
The Rescue of Mermaids $4.99 71 49% 2.1k $11k (exactly $10,629) Erogille
WhaleGameOnline · EA older $2.99 101 92% 3.0k $9.1k (exactly $9,060) NekokujiraLab
Upstream $7.99 18 100% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Gllama Games
AquaDream $4.99 18 100% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) Gossiam Games
The Squirrel & Sea $7.99 7 85% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) mite_j
SERPENT AT THE VERNISSAGE $6.99 8 100% 240 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) a trip by daniel bock
My Rusty Submarine - New Waters $1.99 10 100% 300 $597 (exactly $597) Sørb
Big Fish $4.99 3 66% 90 $449 (exactly $449) TOQ Games
Ocean Pop! : Calypso Collision $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) circyn software
Still, I am. $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) R256

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