Games › Investigation › Investigation + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Investigation game?
Investigation + Cats
Of 31 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 22 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1485 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 22 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,397) |
| Top 25% | $37k (exactly $37,117) |
| Top 5% | $705k (exactly $705,365) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 120% more developers than 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.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Point & Click
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 5,572 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
Blacksad: Under the Skin 2019 · $3.2M 
while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M 
Tales of the Neon Sea 2019 · $2.0M 
Strange Antiquities 2025 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | Blacksad: Under the Skin | older | $19.99 | 5,356 83% | 161k | $3.2M (exactly $3,211,993) | Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive |
| | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
| | Tales of the Neon Sea | older | $16.99 | 3,853 84% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiTi Games |
| | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | 1666: Amsterdam | · EA | $29.99 | 784 63% | 24k | $705k (exactly $705,365) | Panache Digital Games |
 | Cats and the Other Lives | older | $19.99 | 1,089 91% | 33k | $653k (exactly $653,073) | Cultic Games |
 | BROK the InvestiGator | older | $19.99 | 985 97% | 30k | $591k (exactly $590,704) | COWCAT |
 | The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure | $13.99 | 467 97% | 14k | $196k (exactly $196,000) | The Wonder Room | |
 | The Good Life | older | $29.99 | 198 74% | 5.9k | $178k (exactly $178,141) | White Owls Inc. |
 | Moses & Plato - Last Train to Clawville | $19.99 | 104 88% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | The Wild Gentlemen | |
 | Murder at the Birch Tree Theater | $14.99 | 123 95% | 3.7k | $55k (exactly $55,313) | Crucible Juice Games | |
 | Welcome to Doll Town | $4.99 | 351 42% | 11k | $53k (exactly $52,545) | Bad Wish Games | |
 | Cat Detective Albert Wilde | $11.99 | 121 93% | 3.6k | $44k (exactly $43,524) | beyondthosehills | |
 | Creepy Shift: Uncle Joe’s Motel | $6.99 | 177 90% | 5.3k | $37k (exactly $37,117) | Night Shift Team | |
 | Feline Forensics and the Meowseum Mystery | $9.99 | 96 92% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | Nobody Crown | |
 | A Storied Life: Tabitha | $14.99 | 61 78% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Lab42 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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