Games › Investigation › Investigation + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Investigation game?
Investigation + Aliens
Of 34 developers who shipped an Alien Investigation 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.. 63 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×917 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 63 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,903) |
| Top 5% | $435k (exactly $435,464) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 87 |
| Announced | 63 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.50 |
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 20% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.50 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.50.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 12,450 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
Species: Unknown 2025 · EA · $2.8M 
STASIS: BONE TOTEM 2023 · $1.2M 
The Message from Deep Space 2026 · $435k 
Machinika: Museum 2021 · $284k 
Elroy and the Aliens 2025 · $250k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
| | STASIS: BONE TOTEM | older | $19.99 | 2,025 93% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
| | The Message from Deep Space | $9.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $435k (exactly $435,464) | Applesinmypants | |
| | Machinika: Museum | older | $7.99 | 1,184 91% | 36k | $284k (exactly $283,805) | Littlefield Studio |
| | Elroy and the Aliens | $17.99 | 463 97% | 14k | $250k (exactly $249,881) | Motiviti | |
 | Machinika: Atlas | $11.99 | 574 76% | 17k | $206k (exactly $206,468) | Littlefield Studio | |
 | Quarantine Circular | older | $5.99 | 432 88% | 13k | $78k (exactly $77,630) | Bithell Games |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games | |
 | Expedition Zero | older | $19.99 | 90 44% | 2.7k | $54k (exactly $53,973) | Enigmatic Machines |
 | Cosmic Fear | $19.99 | 84 80% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Alessandro Guzzo | |
 | Macabre | · EA | $9.99 | 82 53% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,575) | Weforge Studio |
 | The Echo Paradox | $8.99 | 63 77% | 1.9k | $17k (exactly $16,991) | Virtuzilla | |
 | Who Are You!? | $7.99 | 58 68% | 1.7k | $14k (exactly $13,903) | Haunting Humans Studio | |
 | Mimicry! | $9.99 | 45 97% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | Wayward Skies Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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