Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Arcade

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Arcade game?

2D Platformer + Arcade

Of 804 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Arcade 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.. 762 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 462 developers shipped in the last year and 762 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 762 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Arcade
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 804
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $657 → $479 → $449 → $359 → $419 → $298 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Arcade: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 804
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 5% $25k (exactly $25,183)
Developers, 2 yr 804
Released games 2,746
Announced 762
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 flat on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Arcade
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, Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 34,206 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $25k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. Nearly all of the 451 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 762 games are announced against 462 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  2. + VampiresFair47 devs · median $1.9k · 50 announced
  3. + MechsFair33 devs · median $1.8k · 44 announced
  4. + PinballFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 9 announced
  5. + WesternFair10 devs · median $1.3k · 13 announced
  6. + CRPGFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorFair178 devs · median $1.0k · 185 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  9. + MiningFair38 devs · median $748 · 45 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Party-Based RPGFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  12. + Tactical RPGFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced

All 226 pairs on the 2D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R 2022 · $22M Rogue Legacy 2 2022 · $11M Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M ROUNDS 2021 · $6.4M UFO 50 2024 · $5.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Rogue Legacy 2 older $24.99 14,238 90% 427k $11M (exactly $10,674,229) Cellar Door Games
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
Sonic Origins older $29.99 5,322 77% 160k $4.8M (exactly $4,788,203) Sonic Team
Laika: Aged Through Blood older $19.99 5,938 91% 178k $3.6M (exactly $3,561,019) Brainwash Gang
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance $29.99 3,564 83% 107k $3.2M (exactly $3,206,531) SEGA, Lizardcube
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Darwin's Paradox! $24.99 843 87% 25k $632k (exactly $631,997) ZDT Studio
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
Nitro Express $12.99 1,069 75% 32k $417k (exactly $416,589) Grayfax Software
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited
GRADIUS ORIGINS $39.99 241 92% 7.2k $289k (exactly $289,128) KONAMI, M2 Co.,LTD

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