Games › CRPG › CRPG + Detective
Should I ship a Detective CRPG?
CRPG + Detective
Of 27 developers who shipped a Detective CRPG 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.. 51 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×1536 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 51 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $50,496) |
| Top 5% | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 25% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Visual Novel
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $23.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $23.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 16,912 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut 2019 · $142M 
Pathologic 2 2019 · $10M 
Back to the Dawn 2025 · $6.2M 
The Thaumaturge 2024 · $4.1M 
Threefold Recital 2025 · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Disco Elysium - The Final Cut | older | $39.99 | 118,124 92% | 3.5M | $142M (exactly $141,713,363) | ZA/UM |
| | Pathologic 2 | older | $34.99 | 9,554 92% | 287k | $10M (exactly $10,028,834) | Ice-Pick Lodge |
| | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
| | The Thaumaturge | older | $34.99 | 3,888 81% | 117k | $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) | Fool's Theory |
| | Threefold Recital | $14.99 | 5,117 98% | 154k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) | Everscape Games | |
 | Gamedec - Definitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 1,119 78% | 34k | $1.0M (exactly $1,006,764) | Anshar Studios |
 | The Necromancer's Tale | $24.99 | 921 91% | 28k | $690k (exactly $690,474) | Psychic Software | |
 | 我的恋爱逃生攻略 Love to Live | $9.99 | 864 85% | 26k | $259k (exactly $258,941) | 番茄炖肉制作组 | |
 | All in Abyss: Judge the Fake | $15.99 | 375 54% | 11k | $180k (exactly $179,888) | ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground | |
 | CaseCracker3 | $12.99 | 359 84% | 11k | $140k (exactly $139,902) | BlackRobe | |
 | 夏末白夜 | $5.99 | 281 93% | 8.4k | $50k (exactly $50,496) | 晚夏社 | |
 | The Case of the Golden Night Apartment | $9.99 | 89 44% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,673) | Buddy Studio | |
 | Kill The Clock | · EA | $14.99 | 45 88% | 1.4k | $20k (exactly $20,236) | Happy Slugs |
 | Subway Exorcist Girl | $1.99 | 306 82% | 9.2k | $18k (exactly $18,268) | 纤指游戏 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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