Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Investigation game?

Combat + Investigation

Of 66 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 130 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×548 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 130 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 130 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 66
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $2.4k → $896 → $7.9k → $3.7k → $898 → $300 (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 66
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,479)
Top 5% $344k (exactly $344,020)
Developers, 2 yr 66
Released games 145
Announced 130
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Investigation
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, Investigation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,513 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $960, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different second tag, 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

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One 2021 · $5.7M Enigma of Fear 2024 · $2.7M The Sinking City 2 2026 · $2.1M RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army 2025 · $1.6M 沉默的蟋蟀 2023 · $508k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One older $44.99 4,189 77% 126k $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) Frogwares
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
沉默的蟋蟀 older $14.99 1,130 88% 34k $508k (exactly $508,161) 蓬莱飞鱼工作室
USAC: Code Breach older $14.99 1,067 91% 32k $480k (exactly $479,830) Questions Factory
Hard Time III older $14.99 929 85% 28k $418k (exactly $417,771) MDickie
Lunar Eclipse · EA $14.99 765 82% 23k $344k (exactly $344,020) Black Rabbit's Tales
The Divine Invasion older $14.99 690 79% 21k $310k (exactly $310,293) Whale Rock Games
Responding · EA $24.99 409 45% 12k $307k (exactly $306,627) Visionary Studios
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow $19.99 340 75% 10k $204k (exactly $203,898) Maze Theory
Troublemaker 2: Beyond Dream $24.99 142 95% 4.3k $106k (exactly $106,457) Gamecom Team
Schizo Dark $39.99 87 95% 2.6k $104k (exactly $104,374) Galactic Geckon
Miami Paradise 2 $14.99 131 94% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Entropy Digital Entertainment
DRUDGE · EA $12.99 139 94% 4.2k $54k (exactly $54,168) Writegg

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