Games › Investigation › Investigation + Cyberpunk
Should I ship a Cyberpunk Investigation game?
Investigation + Cyberpunk
Of 33 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 78 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×326 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 78 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $600 (exactly $600) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,772) |
| Top 5% | $204k (exactly $204,498) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 106 |
| Announced | 78 |
| 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 down 90% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Cyberpunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,752 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
Nobody Wants to Die 2024 · $4.4M 
Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M 
Operation: Tango 2021 · $4.3M 
Observer: System Redux 2020 · $2.2M 
Tales of the Neon Sea 2019 · $2.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nobody Wants to Die | older | $24.99 | 5,818 83% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) | Critical Hit Games |
| | Cyber Manhunt | older | $9.99 | 14,520 92% | 436k | $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) | Aluba Van+ |
| | Operation: Tango | older | $19.99 | 7,167 86% | 215k | $4.3M (exactly $4,298,050) | Clever Plays |
| | Observer: System Redux | older | $29.99 | 2,462 84% | 74k | $2.2M (exactly $2,215,061) | Bloober Team, Anshar Studios |
| | Tales of the Neon Sea | older | $16.99 | 3,853 84% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiTi Games |
 | Arctic Eggs | older | $9.99 | 5,343 95% | 160k | $1.6M (exactly $1,601,297) | The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie,… (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex) |
 | Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure | older | $15.99 | 2,158 91% | 65k | $1.0M (exactly $1,035,193) | DigiTales Interactive |
 | Gamedec - Definitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 1,119 78% | 34k | $1.0M (exactly $1,006,764) | Anshar Studios |
 | USAC: Code Breach | older | $14.99 | 1,067 91% | 32k | $480k (exactly $479,830) | Questions Factory |
 | The Divine Invasion | older | $14.99 | 690 79% | 21k | $310k (exactly $310,293) | Whale Rock Games |
 | Cybernetic Fault | $14.99 | 679 78% | 20k | $305k (exactly $305,346) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 | $19.99 | 341 96% | 10k | $204k (exactly $204,498) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | HARDCODED | $16.99 | 282 90% | 8.5k | $144k (exactly $143,735) | Ghost Hug Games | |
 | Mars Vice | $24.99 | 70 97% | 2.1k | $52k (exactly $52,479) | Rho Labyrinths GmbH | |
 | Neon Blood | $17.99 | 73 60% | 2.2k | $39k (exactly $39,398) | ChaoticBrain Studios | |
 | how to kill a fly [ H2KAF ] | $9.99 | 71 97% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $21,279) | Radtel Collective | |
 | Mini Mini Golf Golf | $9.99 | 65 87% | 2.0k | $19k (exactly $19,480) | Three More Years | |
 | Neon Hearts City | $9.99 | 46 80% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $13,786) | Cosmic Void | |
 | Au Revoir | $4.99 | 92 95% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Invisible Studio | |
 | New Eromancer | $11.99 | 33 48% | 990 | $12k (exactly $11,870) | OneCoin |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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