Games › Investigation › Investigation + Alternate History
Should I ship an Alternate-History Investigation game?
Investigation + Alternate History
Of 33 developers who shipped an Alternate-History 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.. 95 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×420 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 95 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
| Top 25% | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) |
| Top 5% | $264k (exactly $263,868) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 109 |
| Announced | 95 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.50 |
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 down 75% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Alternate History
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Action
- Price point
- $7.50 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.50.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,283 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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
Observer: System Redux 2020 · $2.2M 
1666: Amsterdam 2026 · EA · $705k 
The Inquisitor 2024 · $332k 
Go Home Annie: An SCP Game 2024 · $264k 
TR-49 2026 · $251k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Observer: System Redux | older | $29.99 | 2,462 84% | 74k | $2.2M (exactly $2,215,061) | Bloober Team, Anshar Studios |
| | 1666: Amsterdam | · EA | $29.99 | 784 63% | 24k | $705k (exactly $705,365) | Panache Digital Games |
| | The Inquisitor | older | $39.99 | 277 66% | 8.3k | $332k (exactly $332,317) | The Dust S.A. |
| | Go Home Annie: An SCP Game | $19.99 | 440 79% | 13k | $264k (exactly $263,868) | Misfit Village | |
| | TR-49 | $6.99 | 1,197 94% | 36k | $251k (exactly $251,011) | inkle Ltd | |
 | DAEMON MASQUERADE | $14.99 | 514 95% | 15k | $231k (exactly $231,146) | Callum Page | |
 | BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION | older | $12.99 | 517 75% | 16k | $201k (exactly $201,475) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
 | Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition | older | $9.99 | 617 74% | 19k | $185k (exactly $184,915) | Nightdive Studios, Westwood Studios |
 | The Occupation | older | $29.99 | 184 67% | 5.5k | $166k (exactly $165,545) | White Paper Games |
 | Mask of the Rose | older | $19.99 | 260 76% | 7.8k | $156k (exactly $155,922) | Failbetter Games |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games | |
 | Into The Darkness VR | · EA | $19.99 | 35 37% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,990) | Cosmos Games, 9 lives |
 | Long Live Caesar | $9.99 | 51 78% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs | |
 | Splittown | $19.99 | 19 94% | 570 | $11k (exactly $11,394) | Mats Kyyrö, Juha Keränen | |
 | Casting Whispers | $14.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) | Lantern Bay Entertainment | |
 | Dyer Expedition | $7.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $7.9k (exactly $7,910) | Monkeys With Jobs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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