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Should I ship a Detective Card Game?
Card Game + Detective
Of 23 developers who shipped a Detective Card 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.. 44 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $26,889) |
| Top 5% | $314k (exactly $313,756) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 44 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 down 65% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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
- Card Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 5,454 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SteampunkFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DogsFair
- + MahjongFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Board GameFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Dating SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs 2025 · $412k 
Trainee Death Simulator 2024 · $314k 
All in Abyss: Judge the Fake 2025 · $180k 
Dead Town Tales 2023 · $150k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs | $4.99 | 2,752 96% | 83k | $412k (exactly $411,974) | Bastinus Rex | |
| | Trainee Death Simulator | $5.99 | 1,746 92% | 52k | $314k (exactly $313,756) | Bone Nail | |
| | All in Abyss: Judge the Fake | $15.99 | 375 54% | 11k | $180k (exactly $179,888) | ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground | |
| | Dead Town Tales | older | $11.99 | 417 82% | 13k | $150k (exactly $149,995) | 拾遗工作室 |
 | Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator | $12.99 | 208 59% | 6.2k | $81k (exactly $81,058) | Zeitglas | |
 | Nancy Drew®: The Phantom of Venice | older | $9.99 | 204 90% | 6.1k | $61k (exactly $61,139) | HeR Interactive |
 | Sunshine Shuffle | older | $9.99 | 156 76% | 4.7k | $47k (exactly $46,753) | Strange Scaffold |
 | The Magister | older | $14.99 | 103 91% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $46,319) | Nerdook Productions |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
 | Vegangsters | $12.99 | 69 92% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $26,889) | Poison Pill Games | |
 | Trading Card Inspector | $6.99 | 89 96% | 2.7k | $19k (exactly $18,663) | Daydream Gallery | |
 | Prison Notes | $9.99 | 38 94% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $11,389) | 闻岚工坊（Vinland Studio） | |
 | Circular Fallacy | $5.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $7.5k (exactly $7,547) | 非稳态物质-Unstable Matter | |
 | The Midnight Crimes | $10.99 | 20 60% | 600 | $6.6k (exactly $6,594) | DeadlyCrow Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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