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Should I ship a Crime Word Game?
Word Game + Crime
Only 14 developers shipped a Crime Word Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Misty Judgment, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.7k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×502 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 25 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $897 (exactly $897) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $54,845) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,549) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Word Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Investigation, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.50 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Hand-drawn, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.50 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,686 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Word Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalFair
- + TacticalFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Procedural GenerationFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
Comparable games
Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M 
Far Away 2021 · $3.0M 
Roman's Christmas / 罗曼圣诞探案集 2020 · $460k 
Misty Judgment 2025 · $316k 
Turlock Holmes 2024 · $269k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cyber Manhunt | older | $9.99 | 14,520 92% | 436k | $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) | Aluba Van+ |
| | Far Away | older | $12.99 | 7,598 94% | 228k | $3.0M (exactly $2,960,941) | Gratesca |
| | Roman's Christmas / 罗曼圣诞探案集 | older | $10.99 | 1,395 95% | 42k | $460k (exactly $459,932) | SelfCrop Studio |
| | Misty Judgment | $8.99 | 1,170 92% | 35k | $316k (exactly $315,549) | 次元边界 | |
| | Turlock Holmes | older | $9.99 | 897 80% | 27k | $269k (exactly $268,831) | Find the Lamp Games |
 | Stiff Neck | $6.99 | 955 81% | 29k | $200k (exactly $200,264) | 伤官制作组 Team Uranian | |
 | Puzzle Spy International | $12.50 | 148 91% | 4.4k | $56k (exactly $55,500) | Travel-Friendly Cake | |
 | Rubbings | $9.99 | 183 87% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | 午夜说书人 | |
 | 精神病大王花 Flowering Abyss | older | $7.99 | 228 82% | 6.8k | $55k (exactly $54,652) | CHARON |
 | The Kuon Island Nursery Rhyme Murders: Case Notes | $7.99 | 82 54% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $19,655) | Renka | |
 | Curse or Love | $4.49 | 84 90% | 2.5k | $11k (exactly $11,315) | 小橘子糖_official | |
 | 搜查一刻 | $9.99 | 29 68% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Yai | |
 | Couch Detective | · EA | $4.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | Gamtropy |
 | Mystery Island:Missing Amy | $6.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | TAPROMANCE | |
 | How Many Secrets Under Ceiling | $2.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $897 (exactly $897) | 稻歌游戏工作室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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