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Should I ship a Mystery Collectathon game?
Collectathon + Mystery
Of 80 developers who shipped a Mystery Collectathon 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.. 140 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×224 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 140 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) |
| Top 5% | $106k (exactly $106,437) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 80 |
| Released games | 232 |
| Announced | 140 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 15% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Collectathon
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Collectathon; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 3,844 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 53 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 140 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Collectathon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + ManagementFair
- + CrimeFair
- + Level EditorFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SokobanFair
- + MythologyFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
Crystal Project 2022 · $1.1M 
Welcome to Elderfield 2026 · $720k 
Penko Park 2020 · $253k 
Garage: Bad Dream Adventure 2022 · $217k 
Logiart Grimoire 2024 · $201k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crystal Project | older | $13.99 | 2,510 91% | 75k | $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) | Andrew Willman |
| | Welcome to Elderfield | $17.99 | 1,334 87% | 40k | $720k (exactly $719,960) | Chris Cote | |
| | Penko Park | older | $13.99 | 602 98% | 18k | $253k (exactly $252,659) | Ghostbutter |
| | Garage: Bad Dream Adventure | older | $19.90 | 364 97% | 11k | $217k (exactly $217,308) | 作場金属製作所 Sakuba Metal Works, SmokymonkeyS |
| | Logiart Grimoire | older | $19.99 | 336 94% | 10k | $201k (exactly $201,499) | Jupiter Corporation |
 | Super Kiwi 64 | older | $2.99 | 1,805 95% | 54k | $162k (exactly $161,908) | Siactro |
 | Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 | older | $9.99 | 533 98% | 16k | $160k (exactly $159,740) | Cosmo D |
 | Hachishaku | $9.99 | 456 85% | 14k | $137k (exactly $136,663) | Trash Panda Games | |
 | Dig Island | · EA | $14.99 | 282 86% | 8.5k | $127k (exactly $126,815) | FiftyEight Studios |
 | Digger: Galactic Treasures | $4.99 | 711 87% | 21k | $106k (exactly $106,437) | RainStyle games | |
 | Mosaic of the Strange | $12.99 | 226 92% | 6.8k | $88k (exactly $88,072) | Mark Ffrench | |
 | Mosaic of The Pharaohs | $8.99 | 297 92% | 8.9k | $80k (exactly $80,101) | Mark Ffrench | |
 | Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island | $24.99 | 104 93% | 3.1k | $78k (exactly $77,969) | Polygon Treehouse | |
 | Interdimensional Vending Machine | $7.99 | 185 84% | 5.6k | $44k (exactly $44,344) | Neuroticfly Games | |
 | Tidy Up Together | $5.99 | 221 80% | 6.6k | $40k (exactly $39,714) | Malum Games | |
 | Dog Man: Mission Impawsible | $29.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $25k (exactly $25,192) | Floor 84 Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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