Games › Investigation › Investigation + Dating Sim
Should I ship an Investigation Dating Sim?
Investigation + Dating Sim
Of 37 developers who shipped an Investigation Dating Sim 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×14 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×303 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.6k (exactly $6,625) |
| Top 25% | $26k (exactly $25,787) |
| Top 5% | $144k (exactly $143,735) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 98 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Dating Sim
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Dating Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,741 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
Fate Seeker II 2021 · $7.7M 
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring 2021 · $2.6M 
Love, Money, Rock'n'Roll 2022 · $1.1M 
The Genesis Order 2024 · $837k 
Devil Girl 2021 · $200k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Fate Seeker II | older | $22.60 | 11,360 88% | 341k | $7.7M (exactly $7,702,080) | JSL Entertainment |
| | Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring | older | $13.99 | 6,310 95% | 189k | $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
| | Love, Money, Rock'n'Roll | older | $9.99 | 3,726 81% | 112k | $1.1M (exactly $1,116,682) | Soviet Games |
| | The Genesis Order | older | $14.99 | 1,862 87% | 56k | $837k (exactly $837,341) | NLT Media |
| | Devil Girl | older | $9.99 | 668 85% | 20k | $200k (exactly $200,200) | BananaKing, 台灣香蕉王 |
 | Mask of the Rose | older | $19.99 | 260 76% | 7.8k | $156k (exactly $155,922) | Failbetter Games |
 | Shanghai Summer | older | $12.99 | 393 89% | 12k | $153k (exactly $153,152) | FUTU Studio |
 | Taboo University Book One | $14.99 | 332 79% | 10k | $149k (exactly $149,300) | ViNovella Games | |
 | Going Rogue | older | $12.99 | 371 79% | 11k | $145k (exactly $144,579) | Ker |
 | HARDCODED | $16.99 | 282 90% | 8.5k | $144k (exactly $143,735) | Ghost Hug Games | |
 | Shale Hill Secrets | $14.99 | 245 80% | 7.4k | $110k (exactly $110,176) | Love-Joint | |
 | Demonheart: The Cursed Trial | $24.99 | 115 90% | 3.5k | $86k (exactly $86,216) | Rolling Crown | |
 | Where it all Began - Season 1 | · EA | $9.99 | 286 84% | 8.6k | $86k (exactly $85,714) | OceanAVN |
 | BUSTAFELLOWS season2 | $49.99 | 53 86% | 1.6k | $79k (exactly $79,484) | NIPPON CULTURAL BROADCASTING EXTEND INC. | |
 | My proud girlfriend--Lina Chapter | $5.99 | 210 91% | 6.3k | $38k (exactly $37,737) | zzzgame | |
 | Corrupted Paradise | $11.99 | 101 76% | 3.0k | $36k (exactly $36,330) | SecretGame | |
 | Eclipse : Special Forces | $13.99 | 74 90% | 2.2k | $31k (exactly $31,058) | MoonSun | |
 | MARBLE MIRAGE | $19.99 | 43 81% | 1.3k | $26k (exactly $25,787) | Velvet Arcade |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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