Games › Arcade › Arcade + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Arcade game?
Arcade + Detective
Of 33 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 33 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper, while revenue is flat on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) |
| Top 5% | $265k (exactly $265,134) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 33 |
| 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 as many developers as 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Investigation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 9,181 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M 
Alan Wake's American Nightmare 2012 · $2.3M 
Supernatural 2024 · $318k 
Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile 2025 · $265k 
Superhero Simulator 2025 · EA · $156k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
| | Alan Wake's American Nightmare | older | $8.99 | 8,352 74% | 251k | $2.3M (exactly $2,252,534) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | Supernatural | older | $8.99 | 1,180 63% | 35k | $318k (exactly $318,246) | Hitori De Productions |
| | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
| | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
 | Budget Cuts Ultimate | older | $19.99 | 110 88% | 3.3k | $66k (exactly $65,967) | Neat Corporation |
 | Yurukill: The Calumniation Games | older | $19.99 | 64 76% | 1.9k | $38k (exactly $38,381) | IzanagiGames, G.rev Ltd., ESQUADRA,inc. |
 | Paranormal Detective: Escape from the 80's | older | $9.99 | 82 92% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,575) | LunaBeat |
 | Blueblood Arena | · EA | $8.99 | 88 96% | 2.6k | $24k (exactly $23,734) | Team Blueblood |
 | DeTechtive 2112 | $10.99 | 60 46% | 1.8k | $20k (exactly $19,782) | M11 Studio | |
 | Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split | $24.99 | 24 50% | 720 | $18k (exactly $17,993) | Dead Drop Studios LLC | |
 | Fantastic Findings Hidden Seasons | $11.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $10k (exactly $10,431) | Shapeshift Entertainment ApS | |
 | Memori | · EA | $14.99 | 22 95% | 660 | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) | PracticalNPC |
 | The Power of Fish | $4.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) | Strangefish Studios | |
 | 1964 Operation Velvet Twins | $5.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | SEEP |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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