Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer

Of 3,496 developers who shipped a 2D 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.. 4,630 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 1,986 developers shipped in the last year and 4,630 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 4,630 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 3,496
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $624 → $479 → $538 → $570 → $479 → $479 → $359 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 3,496
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 5% $75k (exactly $74,650)
Developers, 2 yr 3,496
Released games 11,421
Announced 4,630
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 10% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
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
2D Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
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 91% positive over 84,915 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 2,128 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 4,630 games are announced against 1,986 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with 2D Platformer

165 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Destruction + 2D Platformer Poor odds $719 41 devs
  2. 2D Platformer + Perma Death Poor odds $718 70 devs
  3. RPG + 2D Platformer Poor odds $683 673 devs
  4. Choices Matter + 2D Platformer Poor odds $657 221 devs
  5. Open World + 2D Platformer Poor odds $648 89 devs
  6. Economy + 2D Platformer Poor odds $629 31 devs
  7. Adventure + 2D Platformer Poor odds $599 1,675 devs
  8. 2D Platformer + Roguelite Poor odds $599 242 devs
  9. Turn-Based Combat + 2D Platformer Poor odds $599 131 devs
  10. Grand Strategy + 2D Platformer Poor odds $599 19 devs
  11. 2D Platformer + Sokoban Poor odds $599 16 devs
  12. Colony Sim + 2D Platformer Poor odds $599 12 devs
  13. Action Roguelike + 2D Platformer Poor odds $598 208 devs
  14. Online Co-Op + 2D Platformer Poor odds $598 81 devs
  15. 2D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up Poor odds $597 119 devs
  16. 2D Platformer + Investigation Poor odds $539 29 devs
  17. Creature Collector + 2D Platformer Poor odds $538 32 devs
  18. Action + 2D Platformer Poor odds $505 1,912 devs
  19. 2D Platformer + Dynamic Narration Poor odds $505 20 devs
  20. Action-Adventure + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 799 devs
  21. Combat + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 576 devs
  22. Dungeon Crawler + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 102 devs
  23. Life Sim + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 72 devs
  24. Split Screen + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 26 devs
  25. Agriculture + 2D Platformer Poor odds $479 23 devs
  26. 2D Platformer + Platformer Poor odds $449 1,822 devs
  27. Procedural Generation + 2D Platformer Poor odds $449 137 devs
  28. Survival Horror + 2D Platformer Poor odds $449 35 devs
  29. Party Game + 2D Platformer Poor odds $421 71 devs
  30. 2D Platformer + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $419 623 devs
  31. 2D Platformer + Precision Platformer Poor odds $359 642 devs
  32. Sandbox + 2D Platformer Poor odds $359 75 devs
  33. Stealth + 2D Platformer Poor odds $300 49 devs
  34. 2D Platformer + Intentionally Awkward Controls Dead $599 9 devs
  35. Action RPG + 2D Platformer Dead $479 251 devs
  36. Resource Management + 2D Platformer Dead $479 76 devs
  37. Base Building + 2D Platformer Dead $479 38 devs
  38. Battle Royale + 2D Platformer Dead $479 12 devs
  39. 2D Platformer + Typing Dead $479 12 devs
  40. PvP + 2D Platformer Dead $450 195 devs
  41. Archery + 2D Platformer Dead $450 16 devs
  42. Hunting + 2D Platformer Dead $450 8 devs
  43. Turn-Based Strategy + 2D Platformer Dead $421 138 devs
  44. Shooter + 2D Platformer Dead $419 292 devs
  45. Walking Simulator + 2D Platformer Dead $359 47 devs
  46. Automation + 2D Platformer Dead $359 41 devs
  47. Farming Sim + 2D Platformer Dead $359 40 devs
  48. 2D Platformer + Auto Battler Dead $359 35 devs
  49. 2D Platformer + Hidden Object Dead $358 94 devs
  50. Turn-Based Tactics + 2D Platformer Dead $330 126 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Celeste 2018 · $79M INSIDE 2016 · $52M Noita 2020 · $49M Pizza Tower 2023 · $40M Rain World 2017 · $35M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Celeste older $19.99 132,072 97% 4.0M $79M (exactly $79,203,578) Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Ga… (Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Games, Ltd.)
INSIDE older $24.99 69,791 97% 2.1M $52M (exactly $52,322,313) Playdead
Noita older $19.99 81,149 95% 2.4M $49M (exactly $48,665,055) Nolla Games
Pizza Tower older $19.99 66,350 98% 2.0M $40M (exactly $39,790,095) Tour De Pizza
Rain World older $24.99 46,871 94% 1.4M $35M (exactly $35,139,189) Videocult
Sonic Generations Collection older $51.79 20,304 93% 609k $32M (exactly $31,546,325) Devil's Details
Katana ZERO older $14.99 66,341 97% 2.0M $30M (exactly $29,833,548) Askiisoft
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
SANABI older $14.99 41,700 97% 1.3M $19M (exactly $18,752,490) WONDER POTION
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS $49.99 12,178 96% 365k $18M (exactly $18,263,347) Sonic Team
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Neva $19.99 9,343 93% 280k $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) Nomada Studio
REPLACED $19.99 9,130 84% 274k $5.5M (exactly $5,475,261) Sad Cat Studios
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
Mina the Hollower $19.99 7,562 88% 227k $4.5M (exactly $4,534,931) Yacht Club Games
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance $29.99 3,564 83% 107k $3.2M (exactly $3,206,531) SEGA, Lizardcube
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe

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