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Should I ship a Mystery Building game?
Building + Mystery
Of 52 developers who shipped a Mystery Building 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.. 119 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×997 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 119 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,700) |
| Top 5% | $626k (exactly $626,087) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 52 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 119 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Building; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Simulation, Crafting
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 12,773 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CatsFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + CrimePoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
Comparable games
Graveyard Keeper 2018 · $24M 
Len's Island 2025 · $4.4M 
The Pedestrian 2020 · $3.1M 
Techtonica 2024 · $2.8M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Graveyard Keeper | older | $19.99 | 39,547 86% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,716,336) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | Len's Island | $24.99 | 5,935 82% | 178k | $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470) | Flow Studio | |
| | The Pedestrian | older | $19.99 | 5,173 96% | 155k | $3.1M (exactly $3,102,248) | Skookum Arts |
| | Techtonica | $29.99 | 3,076 64% | 92k | $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) | Fire Hose Games | |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
 | Surviving the Abyss | $19.99 | 1,044 64% | 31k | $626k (exactly $626,087) | Rocket Flair Studios | |
 | The Last Gas Station | $13.99 | 1,250 87% | 38k | $525k (exactly $524,625) | Alawar | |
 | Starsand | older | $19.99 | 806 69% | 24k | $483k (exactly $483,358) | Tunnel Vision Studio |
 | Scrapnaut | older | $13.99 | 738 69% | 22k | $310k (exactly $309,739) | SpiffyBit |
 | DYSPLACED | · EA | $24.99 | 296 87% | 8.9k | $222k (exactly $221,911) | 10tons Ltd |
 | Everholm | $19.99 | 297 75% | 8.9k | $178k (exactly $178,111) | Chonky Loaf | |
 | The Succession of Changing Kings | $9.99 | 487 86% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,954) | KwaKwaGames | |
 | Inferno Protocol | · EA | $13.49 | 144 79% | 4.3k | $58k (exactly $58,277) | Tektonic Interactive |
 | LIMSCAPE : THE LIMINAL SPACE EXPLORER | $9.99 | 163 87% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,851) | SMOOTHEA | |
 | Past Fate | · EA | $19.99 | 81 43% | 2.4k | $49k (exactly $48,576) | Icy North Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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