Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer

Of 1,640 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 2,456 more are announced, ×2.8 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 $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 885 developers shipped in the last year and 2,456 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 2,456 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,640
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $987 → $718 → $599 → $748 → $479 → $449 → $449 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,640
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $360 (exactly $360)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,960)
Top 5% $54k (exactly $53,964)
Developers, 2 yr 1,640
Released games 6,235
Announced 2,456
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 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Puzzle 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
Puzzle 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 94% positive over 120,920 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $53k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 994 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,456 games are announced against 885 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Puzzle Platformer

170 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Puzzle Platformer + Romance Fair $1.5k 41 devs
  2. Inventory Management + Puzzle Platformer Fair $1.1k 20 devs
  3. Life Sim + Puzzle Platformer Fair $657 20 devs
  4. Simulation + Puzzle Platformer Fair $479 216 devs
  5. Grid-Based Movement + Puzzle Platformer Fair $449 62 devs
  6. Puzzle Platformer + Sokoban Fair $358 51 devs
  7. Puzzle Platformer + Lovecraftian Poor odds $9.3k 11 devs
  8. Co-op Campaign + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $9.0k 26 devs
  9. Metroidvania + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $5.3k 91 devs
  10. Swordplay + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $4.2k 8 devs
  11. Split Screen + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $3.6k 24 devs
  12. Hack and Slash + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $3.0k 18 devs
  13. Local Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $2.7k 82 devs
  14. Co-op + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $2.7k 138 devs
  15. Local Multiplayer + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $2.4k 67 devs
  16. Puzzle Platformer + Dating Sim Poor odds $2.4k 26 devs
  17. Puzzle Platformer + Female Protagonist Poor odds $2.2k 167 devs
  18. Online Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $2.0k 106 devs
  19. Puzzle Platformer + Post-apocalyptic Poor odds $2.0k 38 devs
  20. Puzzle Platformer + Escape Room Poor odds $1.9k 15 devs
  21. Driving + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $1.8k 14 devs
  22. Puzzle Platformer + LGBTQ+ Poor odds $1.7k 16 devs
  23. Souls-like + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $1.3k 22 devs
  24. Puzzle Platformer + Visual Novel Poor odds $1.2k 62 devs
  25. Puzzle Platformer + Demons Poor odds $1.2k 30 devs
  26. Puzzle Platformer + Mythology Poor odds $1.2k 22 devs
  27. Multiple Endings + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $1.1k 118 devs
  28. Puzzle Platformer + Thriller Poor odds $1.1k 52 devs
  29. Puzzle Platformer + Medieval Poor odds $1.1k 48 devs
  30. Puzzle Platformer + Psychological Horror Poor odds $971 131 devs
  31. Exploration + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $899 496 devs
  32. Puzzle Platformer + Mystery Poor odds $899 232 devs
  33. Collectathon + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $899 92 devs
  34. Puzzle Platformer + Time Travel Poor odds $899 17 devs
  35. Character Customization + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $898 85 devs
  36. Puzzle Platformer + Historical Poor odds $898 29 devs
  37. Action-Adventure + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $839 391 devs
  38. Open World + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $839 70 devs
  39. Flight + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $839 14 devs
  40. Puzzle Platformer + Horror Poor odds $836 158 devs
  41. Puzzle Platformer + Underground Poor odds $748 21 devs
  42. Destruction + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $748 17 devs
  43. Perma Death + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $748 16 devs
  44. Puzzle Platformer + Dark Fantasy Poor odds $719 58 devs
  45. Investigation + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $719 50 devs
  46. Survival Horror + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $719 41 devs
  47. Dynamic Narration + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $718 17 devs
  48. Puzzle Platformer + Gothic Poor odds $718 16 devs
  49. Adventure + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $683 927 devs
  50. Puzzle Platformer + Supernatural Poor odds $629 47 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

It Takes Two 2021 · $262M Split Fiction 2025 · $118M Portal 2 2011 · $117M Human Fall Flat 2016 · $105M Celeste 2018 · $79M
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
Human Fall Flat older $19.99 174,835 94% 5.2M $105M (exactly $104,848,549) No Brakes Games
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
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
Threefold Recital $14.99 5,117 98% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) Everscape Games
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
Echoes of the End: Enhanced Edition $39.99 1,484 78% 45k $1.8M (exactly $1,780,355) Myrkur Games
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed $39.99 1,275 93% 38k $1.5M (exactly $1,529,618) Purple Lamp

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