Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Arcade game?

Arcade + Platformer

Of 845 developers who shipped a 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.. 919 more are announced.

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. 488 developers shipped in the last year and 919 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 919 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 845
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $897 → $599 → $748 → $598 → $386 → $419 (still earning) → $147 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 845
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,884)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,476)
Developers, 2 yr 845
Released games 3,159
Announced 919
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.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
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
Arcade, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
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 50,585 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.8k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 468 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 919 games are announced against 488 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M Rivals of Aether 2017 · $30M Broforce 2015 · $22M Psychonauts 2 2021 · $22M Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove 2014 · $17M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Geometry Dash older $4.99 595,606 93% 18M $89M (exactly $89,162,218) RobTop Games
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Broforce older $14.99 49,512 96% 1.5M $22M (exactly $22,265,546) Free Lives
Psychonauts 2 older $59.99 12,333 95% 370k $22M (exactly $22,195,700) Double Fine Productions
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove older $39.99 14,211 95% 426k $17M (exactly $17,048,937) Yacht Club Games
Sonic Mania older $19.99 24,338 94% 730k $15M (exactly $14,595,499) Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, Pagoda… (Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games)
Rogue Legacy 2 older $24.99 14,238 90% 427k $11M (exactly $10,674,229) Cellar Door Games
SpeedRunners older $14.99 22,842 94% 685k $10M (exactly $10,272,047) DoubleDutch Games
Crab Champions · EA older $9.99 26,546 97% 796k $8.0M (exactly $7,955,836) Noisestorm
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
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
Denshattack! $19.99 2,910 98% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) Undercoders
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide $39.99 1,151 93% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) Purple Lamp
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Yooka-Replaylee $29.99 1,045 92% 31k $940k (exactly $940,186) Playtonic Games
VHOLUME $8.00 2,992 97% 90k $718k (exactly $718,080) Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin)
Darwin's Paradox! $24.99 843 87% 25k $632k (exactly $631,997) ZDT Studio

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