Do I ship it?

Games › Runner › Runner + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Score Attack game?

Runner + Score Attack

Of 141 developers who shipped a Runner Score Attack 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.. 120 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 78 developers shipped in the last year and 120 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 120 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Runner + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 141
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $180 → $180 → $239 → $238 → $359 → $240 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Runner + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 141
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $238 (exactly $238)
Top 25% $807 (exactly $807)
Top 5% $9.6k (exactly $9,598)
Developers, 2 yr 141
Released games 436
Announced 120
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 80% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Runner, Score Attack; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Platformer
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.80 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.80 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,079 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $800, 1 in 20 over $9.5k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 78 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LootFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 10 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  3. + PsychologicalFair14 devs · median $839 · 12 announced
  4. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $838 · 8 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair12 devs · median $750 · 11 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair15 devs · median $599 · 10 announced
  7. + FPSLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  8. + 4 Player LocalPoor odds12 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  9. + MusicPoor odds16 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds38 devs · median $1.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $898 · 64 announced
  12. + Interactive FictionPoor odds10 devs · median $839 · 16 announced

All 123 pairs on the Runner page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

pureya 2021 · $403k YEAH! YOU WANT "THOSE GAMES," RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET'S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! 2023 · $380k Drift86 2019 · $316k FOTONICA 2014 · $292k Agreeee 2025 · $172k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
pureya older $5.99 2,242 96% 67k $403k (exactly $402,887) Majorariatto
YEAH! YOU WANT "THOSE GAMES," RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET'S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! older $9.99 1,268 71% 38k $380k (exactly $380,020) MONKEYCRAFT Co. Ltd.
Drift86 older $1.99 5,293 91% 159k $316k (exactly $315,992) RewindApp
FOTONICA older $14.99 649 87% 19k $292k (exactly $291,855) Santa Ragione
Agreeee $4.99 1,150 74% 35k $172k (exactly $172,155) べすとまん
Buck Up And Drive! older $7.99 640 91% 19k $153k (exactly $153,408) Fábio Fontes
WAVESHAPER older $1.89 2,239 88% 67k $127k (exactly $126,951) GAMES FOR HUMANS
Orbt XL older $0.99 3,230 96% 97k $96k (exactly $95,931) Adamvision Studios
The Alto Collection older $9.99 263 94% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) Land & Sea
Jelly Bubble $9.99 170 99% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) BINGOBELL
Sensory Overload $9.99 162 93% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Pancake Studios
BEERCRUSH $4.99 206 100% 6.2k $31k (exactly $30,838) LOWLIGHT
SuperSorry $5.99 115 74% 3.5k $21k (exactly $20,666) Sun Studio
Nebula Flow $17.99 37 97% 1.1k $20k (exactly $19,969) After Nap Games
SCHROTT: Roguelike Racer · EA $12.99 49 91% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,095) Ivy Juice
Synthwave Driver · EA $2.99 107 86% 3.2k $9.6k (exactly $9,598) Runebox Studios
Horse Runner DX $4.99 58 91% 1.7k $8.7k (exactly $8,683) Mat Makes Games
EvoWars: New Era $8.99 25 72% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Night Steed Games

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