Games › Platformer › Platformer + Puzzle Platformer
Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Platformer?
Platformer + Puzzle Platformer
Of 859 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer 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.. 1,457 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $77k, ×163 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 1,457 games are announced against 448 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) |
| Top 5% | $77k (exactly $77,374) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 859 |
| Released games | 3,393 |
| Announced | 1,457 |
| 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 down 10% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Platformer, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 116,977 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 521 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,457 games are announced against 448 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Split Fiction | $49.99 | 78,378 97% | 2.4M | $118M (exactly $117,543,487) | Hazelight Studios | |
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | 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 |
| | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
| | Little Nightmares II | older | $29.99 | 50,280 92% | 1.5M | $45M (exactly $45,236,916) | Tarsier Studios |
| | GRIS | older | $14.99 | 83,857 96% | 2.5M | $38M (exactly $37,710,493) | Nomada Studio |
| | Little Nightmares | older | $19.99 | 52,184 94% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,294,745) | Tarsier Studios |
| | BattleBlock Theater® | older | $14.99 | 55,793 97% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,090,112) | The Behemoth |
| | Neva | $19.99 | 9,343 93% | 280k | $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) | Nomada Studio | |
| | Farever | · EA | $19.99 | 8,968 75% | 269k | $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) | Shiro Games |
| | Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered | $29.99 | 3,042 90% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
| | The Plucky Squire | $29.99 | 2,795 84% | 84k | $2.5M (exactly $2,514,662) | All Possible Futures | |
| | ANTONBLAST | $19.99 | 3,943 95% | 118k | $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) | Summitsphere | |
| | Öoo | $9.99 | 6,575 99% | 197k | $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) | NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi) | |
| | Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed | $39.99 | 1,275 93% | 38k | $1.5M (exactly $1,529,618) | Purple Lamp | |
| | SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide | $39.99 | 1,151 93% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) | Purple Lamp | |
| | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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