Games › Arcade › Arcade + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Arcade game?
Arcade + Mystery
Of 145 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 185 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 87 developers shipped in the last year and 185 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $2.0k (exactly $2,030) |
| Top 5% | $34k (exactly $33,552) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 145 |
| Released games | 386 |
| Announced | 185 |
| 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 up 80% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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, Adventure, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,265 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 69 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 87 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
Alan Wake's American Nightmare 2012 · $2.3M 
ALTF4 2021 · $848k 
RATSHAKER™ 2024 · $270k 
SchoolBoy Runaway 2024 · $223k 
Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad 2015 · $215k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Alan Wake's American Nightmare | older | $8.99 | 8,352 74% | 251k | $2.3M (exactly $2,252,534) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | ALTF4 | older | $2.99 | 9,452 80% | 284k | $848k (exactly $847,844) | PUMPKIM |
| | RATSHAKER™ | $2.99 | 3,011 92% | 90k | $270k (exactly $270,087) | Sunscorched Studios | |
| | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
| | Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad | older | $0.99 | 7,239 95% | 217k | $215k (exactly $214,998) | marbenx |
 | Pinball Spire | $14.99 | 410 84% | 12k | $184k (exactly $184,377) | Apparition Games | |
 | Computer Repair Shop | older | $9.99 | 562 66% | 17k | $168k (exactly $168,431) | Cheesecake Dev |
 | Bendy: Lone Wolf | $19.99 | 259 77% | 7.8k | $155k (exactly $155,322) | Joey Drew Studios | |
 | Summer Catchers | older | $8.99 | 347 80% | 10k | $94k (exactly $93,586) | FaceIT |
 | Creepy Tale: Snow Child | $11.99 | 248 91% | 7.4k | $89k (exactly $89,206) | Creepy Brothers | |
 | Death In Abyss | $19.99 | 146 82% | 4.4k | $88k (exactly $87,556) | Agelvik | |
 | The Biggleboss Incident | $7.99 | 188 92% | 5.6k | $45k (exactly $45,064) | BUNKWORKS | |
 | Smilers Den Deluxxx | $6.99 | 160 84% | 4.8k | $34k (exactly $33,552) | MikiY | |
 | Origament: A Paper Adventure | $9.99 | 76 90% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Space Sauce Studio | |
 | Lost and found - What if I come and find it | $15.99 | 36 88% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $17,269) | Gadir Team |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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