Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzle PlatformerPuzzle Platformer + Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Word Game

Of 36 developers who shipped a Word Game 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $90 in the last 2 years and $150 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 20 developers shipped in the last year and 28 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 345% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $182k → $201k → $119 → $60 → $90 → $119 (still earning) → $148 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $90 (exactly $90)
Top 25% $599 (exactly $599)
Top 5% $60k (exactly $60,260)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 93
Announced 28
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 345% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Puzzle Platformer, Word Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, RPG
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,123 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 $90, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $60k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 20 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chants of Sennaar older $19.99 30,416 98% 912k $18M (exactly $18,240,475) Rundisc
Wordle older $30.62 1,147 80% 34k $1.1M (exactly $1,053,634) PreoNus Games
Vanity Fair: The Pursuit older $6.99 4,014 87% 120k $842k (exactly $841,736) 木焱工作室
Wordle 3 older $30.62 610 78% 18k $560k (exactly $560,346) PreoNus Games
Paper Bride older $7.99 2,030 91% 61k $487k (exactly $486,591) HeartBeat Plus
Wordle 2 older $30.62 394 61% 12k $362k (exactly $361,928) PreoNus Games
Paper Bride 2 Zangling Village older $9.99 1,010 91% 30k $303k (exactly $302,697) HeartBeat Plus
Lost Words: Beyond the Page older $14.99 637 94% 19k $286k (exactly $286,459) Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State,… (Sketchbook Developments, Fourth State, Sketchbook Games)
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
Typoman older $9.99 784 86% 24k $235k (exactly $234,965) Brainseed Factory
Paper Bride 6 Nightmare $9.99 369 81% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) HeartBeat Plus
Paper Bride 7 Lethal Bond $9.99 218 92% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) HeartBeat Plus
Rita $14.99 134 99% 4.0k $60k (exactly $60,260) SporkTank
Rubbings $9.99 183 87% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) 午夜说书人
Little Adventurer Treasure Hunt $3.99 185 100% 5.6k $22k (exactly $22,144) BIG EYES TATA
The Garden of Hermeneus $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) ShironoR
THE BREAKFIVE $6.99 10 60% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Nanjing Baiku Network Technology Co., L… (Nanjing Baiku Network Technology Co., Ltd)
Dark Cage1:Reincarnation For Salvation $4.99 8 100% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) zhuzi1, 言溪
Incinera: Pandemonium $12.99 2 100% 60 $779 (exactly $779) Potaras Studio
News Roll · EA $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Koma

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