Do I ship it?

Games › 3D Platformer › 3D Platformer + Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation 3D Platformer?

3D Platformer + Investigation

Of 42 developers who shipped an Investigation 3D 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.. 62 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 19 developers shipped in the last year and 62 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 62 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Platformer + Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $359 → $299 → $148 → $358 → $180 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Platformer + Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $210 (exactly $210)
Top 25% $657 (exactly $657)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $21,649)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 116
Announced 62
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 55% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
3D Platformer, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 13,474 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 $210, 1 in 4 over $650, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

3D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + TransportationFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  2. + MiningFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair36 devs · median $748 · 29 announced
  4. + GolfFair16 devs · median $719 · 16 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair44 devs · median $716 · 39 announced
  6. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  7. + Survival HorrorFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  8. + Perma DeathFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced
  9. + AutomationFair25 devs · median $450 · 21 announced
  10. + OffroadLong shot14 devs · median $478 · 12 announced
  11. + Looter ShooterLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  12. + CatsLong shot66 devs · median $420 · 74 announced

All 216 pairs on the 3D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 2024 · $27M Hazel Sky 2022 · $181k The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time 2026 · $79k Ship Simulator Realistic 2022 · EA · $53k Tandem: A Tale of Shadows 2021 · $42k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames
Hazel Sky older $24.99 242 68% 7.3k $181k (exactly $181,427) Coffee Addict Studio
The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time $17.99 146 86% 4.4k $79k (exactly $78,796) Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobe… (Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobee, Kyle Chuang)
Ship Simulator Realistic · EA older $24.99 71 56% 2.1k $53k (exactly $53,229) Gregory Nikolaidis
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows older $9.99 140 87% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,958) Monochrome Paris
The Crow's Eye older $9.99 127 72% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,062) 3D2 Entertainment
Tad the Lost Explorer older $19.99 38 73% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Gammera Nest
3DMurderMystery TheAshenYou $18.99 38 73% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,649) ぐだぐだぶとん
holo8 $3.99 165 90% 5.0k $20k (exactly $19,750) frog blend
The Shore VR older $11.99 50 34% 1.5k $18k (exactly $17,985) Ares Dragonis
Rascal's Escape $29.99 6 66% 180 $5.4k (exactly $5,398) the Good Evil GmbH
Unlighted $14.99 8 100% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Ginuh Games
Where wh..? $4.99 19 78% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) Pita Game
Toony's Daycare $4.99 10 80% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Little Ghost Games
PATH BALL $2.99 15 100% 450 $1.3k (exactly $1,346) SEKTOR GAMES
異誕監視室 | Monativity Surveillance $2.99 9 44% 270 $807 (exactly $807) Coward_Watson

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