Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Zombies

Only 18 developers shipped a Zombie 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, VonGarland Castle : Beyond Blood, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 28 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 28 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $267 → $1.2k → $359 → $358 → $4.1k (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $18,887)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 55
Announced 28
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 170% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Zombies
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Action, Adventure
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $5.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $5.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 174 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $480, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

Zup! 3 2017 · $319k Mayhem in Single Valley 2021 · $80k JARS 2021 · $37k Trials of Azra 2016 · $27k VonGarland Castle : Beyond Blood 2026 · $19k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Zup! 3 older $1.99 5,335 90% 160k $319k (exactly $318,500) Quiet River
Mayhem in Single Valley older $14.99 178 85% 5.3k $80k (exactly $80,047) Fluxscopic Ltd.
JARS older $11.99 104 71% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) Mousetrap Games
Trials of Azra older $7.99 113 87% 3.4k $27k (exactly $27,086) Onion Core, Bruno Bombardi, Alejandro E… (Onion Core, Bruno Bombardi, Alejandro Elizalde)
VonGarland Castle : Beyond Blood $14.99 42 57% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Ash Jackson
Love is Dead older $11.99 43 88% 1.3k $15k (exactly $15,467) Curiobot
Orange Moon older $9.99 36 63% 1.1k $11k (exactly $10,789) Betelgeuse Zero
Deadlings: Rotten Edition older $3.99 62 75% 1.9k $7.4k (exactly $7,421) ONE MORE LEVEL
Mycosis older $10.99 19 89% 570 $6.3k (exactly $6,264) Tomáš Větrovský
Bio Fail $2.99 46 100% 1.4k $4.1k (exactly $4,126) Langonier
鬼灵的冒险GUILING's Adventure $1.99 54 94% 1.6k $3.2k (exactly $3,224) 硅晶石工作室Sicrystal Studio
LIMBY $3.99 12 100% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Puddle Dog Studios
Room69 $5.99 6 33% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) RetroMystStudio
Alchemists · EA $5.99 4 0% 120 $719 (exactly $719) WASD Game Studio
Stolen Life $6.99 3 0% 90 $629 (exactly $629) HUMEY Studios
AIKO $5.99 3 66% 90 $539 (exactly $539) https://www.instagram.com/dreadcompany?… (https://www.instagram.com/dreadcompany?igsi=MXN0NDlidWIxdGEwbQ==)
Rusty Flesh $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Wasteland Games
Last Alive $6.99 2 0% 60 $419 (exactly $419) PINETREE

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