Should I ship a 2D game?
2D
Of 14,402 developers who shipped a 2D 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.. 21,540 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, ×5.3 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×1103 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 21,540 games are announced against 9,103 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Top 25% | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $131,290) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14,402 |
| Released games | 48,860 |
| Announced | 21,540 |
| Effort | 2 / 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 flat on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 2D
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,010,433 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 8,514 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21,540 games are announced against 9,103 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
All pairs with 2D
No pair with 2D has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Stardew Valley 2016 · $402M 
Terraria 2011 · $372M 
Project Zomboid 2013 · EA · $274M 
Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 · $232M 
Hollow Knight 2017 · $226M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stardew Valley | older | $14.99 | 894,201 98% | 27M | $402M (exactly $402,122,190) | ConcernedApe |
| | Terraria | older | $9.99 | 1,240,388 97% | 37M | $372M (exactly $371,744,284) | Re-Logic |
| | Project Zomboid | · EA older | $24.99 | 364,830 94% | 11M | $274M (exactly $273,513,051) | The Indie Stone |
| | Hollow Knight: Silksong | $19.99 | 386,977 89% | 12M | $232M (exactly $232,070,107) | Team Cherry | |
| | Hollow Knight | older | $14.99 | 502,960 96% | 15M | $226M (exactly $226,181,112) | Team Cherry |
 | RimWorld | older | $34.99 | 208,693 97% | 6.3M | $219M (exactly $219,065,042) | Ludeon Studios |
 | Factorio | older | $35.00 | 191,814 97% | 5.8M | $201M (exactly $201,404,700) | Wube Software LTD. |
 | The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth | older | $14.99 | 415,060 96% | 12M | $187M (exactly $186,652,482) | Nicalis, Inc., Edmund McMillen |
 | Don't Starve Together | older | $14.99 | 376,165 94% | 11M | $169M (exactly $169,161,400) | Klei Entertainment |
 | Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 158,931 94% | 4.8M | $167M (exactly $166,829,871) | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Captur… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, CaptureAge, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, Feral Interactive) |
 | Slay the Spire 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 183,764 61% | 5.5M | $138M (exactly $137,767,871) | Mega Crit |
 | DELTARUNE | $24.99 | 124,894 98% | 3.7M | $94M (exactly $93,633,032) | tobyfox | |
 | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
 | The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome | $29.99 | 56,535 65% | 1.7M | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) | ConchShip Games | |
 | Mewgenics | $29.99 | 49,996 89% | 1.5M | $45M (exactly $44,981,401) | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel | |
 | SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS | $49.99 | 12,178 96% | 365k | $18M (exactly $18,263,347) | Sonic Team | |
 | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
 | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
 | ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist | $24.99 | 17,143 95% | 514k | $13M (exactly $12,852,107) | Adglobe, Live Wire |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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