Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Combat game?

Combat + Detective

Of 28 developers who shipped a Detective Combat 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.. 75 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $2.7M, ×4362 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 75 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 75 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $1.7k → $1.5k → $2.7k → $12k → $539 → $1.8k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,734)
Top 5% $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 71
Announced 75
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 flat on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Investigation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Third Person, Gore
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 20,835 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $2.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire 2026 · $13M Sherlock Holmes Chapter One 2021 · $5.7M Alone in the Dark 2024 · $4.0M Enigma of Fear 2024 · $2.7M The Sinking City 2 2026 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire $29.99 14,604 93% 438k $13M (exactly $13,139,219) Fumi Games
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One older $44.99 4,189 77% 126k $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) Frogwares
Alone in the Dark older $39.99 3,325 77% 100k $4.0M (exactly $3,989,002) Pieces Interactive
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
The Sinking City 2 $49.99 1,410 83% 42k $2.1M (exactly $2,114,577) Frogwares
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army $49.99 1,045 93% 31k $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) ATLUS
Responding · EA $24.99 409 45% 12k $307k (exactly $306,627) Visionary Studios
To Hell With The Ugly older $19.99 133 87% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) La Poule Noire, ARTE France
Budget Cuts Ultimate older $19.99 110 88% 3.3k $66k (exactly $65,967) Neat Corporation
Vengeance of Mr. Peppermint older $19.99 101 70% 3.0k $61k (exactly $60,570) Hack The Publisher
Connection: The Nightmare Within $7.99 138 84% 4.1k $33k (exactly $33,079) Dragon Level
Blueblood Arena · EA $8.99 88 96% 2.6k $24k (exactly $23,734) Team Blueblood
New Eromancer $11.99 33 48% 990 $12k (exactly $11,870) OneCoin
Entities $4.99 53 50% 1.6k $7.9k (exactly $7,934) EY-Studio
Iridescent $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) DraymaDev

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.