Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Investigation
Should I ship an Investigation 2D Platformer?
2D Platformer + Investigation
Of 29 developers who shipped an Investigation 2D 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.. 55 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $74k, ×157 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 55 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $74,363) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 97 |
| Announced | 55 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 up 60% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- 2D Platformer, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Platformer
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 743 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
2D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + VampiresFair
- + MechsFair
- + PinballFair
- + WesternFair
- + CRPGFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + Arena ShooterFair
- + MiningFair
- + RoguelikeFair
- + Party-Based RPGFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
Comparable games
Stellar Code 2025 · $336k 
Shanghai Summer 2024 · $153k 
Lady in Mystery 2021 · $118k 
Exographer 2024 · $74k 
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows 2021 · $42k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stellar Code | $24.98 | 448 97% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,731) | Fragaria | |
| | Shanghai Summer | older | $12.99 | 393 89% | 12k | $153k (exactly $153,152) | FUTU Studio |
| | Lady in Mystery | older | $24.99 | 158 94% | 4.7k | $118k (exactly $118,453) | nolsoft |
| | Exographer | $19.99 | 124 94% | 3.7k | $74k (exactly $74,363) | SciFunGames | |
| | Tandem: A Tale of Shadows | older | $9.99 | 140 87% | 4.2k | $42k (exactly $41,958) | Monochrome Paris |
 | Tad the Lost Explorer | older | $19.99 | 38 73% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Gammera Nest |
 | Blacklist Mafia | older | $9.99 | 65 83% | 2.0k | $19k (exactly $19,480) | VICTORIA Games |
 | Rain City | older | $3.99 | 127 56% | 3.8k | $15k (exactly $15,202) | big pineapple |
 | Rainy Butcher | older | $5.99 | 74 72% | 2.2k | $13k (exactly $13,298) | Genunie Studio, 傅真 |
 | Memori | · EA | $14.99 | 22 95% | 660 | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) | PracticalNPC |
 | アルタイル号の殺人 | $10.99 | 24 87% | 720 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | orange | |
 | Hui-Shuo | $4.99 | 33 90% | 990 | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) | 时光茶馆TeaTime | |
 | An Aisling | $11.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Club Cotton Games | |
 | Stick Scholars | $4.99 | 30 90% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | JaDropping Games | |
 | Empty Village (Part 1) | $4.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) | 트리니티 소프트웨어, PASSWORLD, 이정겸(CEO OF PASSW… (트리니티 소프트웨어, PASSWORLD, 이정겸(CEO OF PASSWORLD)) | |
 | College Escape | $2.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $2.0k (exactly $1,973) | ShiFeiFan | |
 | Mystery Island:Missing Amy | $6.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | TAPROMANCE |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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