Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Conspiracy
Should I ship a Conspiracy Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Conspiracy
Of 99 developers who shipped a Conspiracy Puzzle 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.. 211 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×678 the market median. Revenue is up 165% on the market; 211 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $360 (exactly $360) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,193) |
| Top 5% | $322k (exactly $321,985) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 99 |
| Released games | 316 |
| Announced | 211 |
| 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 up 165% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
- Conspiracy
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Puzzle; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Investigation, Point & Click
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 10,696 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 53 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 211 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
The Case of the Golden Idol 2022 · $5.3M 
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M 
The Rise of the Golden Idol 2024 · $2.3M 
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication 2024 · $1.9M 
Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse 2013 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Case of the Golden Idol | older | $17.99 | 9,794 97% | 294k | $5.3M (exactly $5,285,822) | Color Gray Games |
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
| | The Rise of the Golden Idol | $19.99 | 3,786 92% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,270,464) | Color Gray Games | |
| | The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication | older | $24.99 | 2,493 93% | 75k | $1.9M (exactly $1,869,002) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
| | Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse | older | $24.99 | 1,923 89% | 58k | $1.4M (exactly $1,441,673) | Revolution Software Ltd |
 | Contradiction: Spot The Liar | older | $12.99 | 2,838 94% | 85k | $1.1M (exactly $1,105,969) | Baggy Cat Ltd. |
 | SHUTEN ORDER | $49.99 | 712 80% | 21k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) | Neilo Inc. | |
 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong | older | $49.99 | 561 65% | 17k | $841k (exactly $841,332) | Big Bad Wolf |
 | Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer | $19.99 | 1,244 95% | 37k | $746k (exactly $746,027) | Clifftop Games | |
 | NUTS | older | $24.99 | 884 88% | 27k | $663k (exactly $662,735) | Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi |
 | Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division | $14.99 | 850 97% | 26k | $382k (exactly $382,245) | Thomas Hsu | |
 | Confidential Killings - A Detective Game | $14.99 | 716 76% | 21k | $322k (exactly $321,985) | BRANE, Lorenzo Boni | |
 | Lost Wiki: Kozlovka | $4.99 | 1,634 96% | 49k | $245k (exactly $244,610) | yattytheman | |
 | DAEMON MASQUERADE | $14.99 | 514 95% | 15k | $231k (exactly $231,146) | Callum Page | |
 | Broken Reality 2000 | $14.99 | 371 76% | 11k | $167k (exactly $166,839) | Dynamic Media Triad | |
 | The Ratline | $14.99 | 329 82% | 9.9k | $148k (exactly $147,951) | Owlskip Games | |
 | A Case of Fraud | $8.99 | 540 97% | 16k | $146k (exactly $145,638) | Hesperus Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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