Games › Investigation › Investigation + Demons
Should I ship a Demon Investigation game?
Investigation + Demons
Of 96 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 151 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×570 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 151 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) |
| Top 25% | $26k (exactly $26,032) |
| Top 5% | $271k (exactly $270,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 96 |
| Released games | 256 |
| Announced | 151 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 135% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Demons
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,058 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 58 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 151 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M 
Demonologist 2023 · $11M 
The Thaumaturge 2024 · $4.1M 
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army 2025 · $1.6M 
Ghost Exorcism INC. 2021 · EA · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Phasmophobia | · EA older | $19.99 | 684,009 94% | 21M | $410M (exactly $410,200,197) | Kinetic Games |
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
| | The Thaumaturge | older | $34.99 | 3,888 81% | 117k | $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) | Fool's Theory |
| | RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army | $49.99 | 1,045 93% | 31k | $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) | ATLUS | |
| | Ghost Exorcism INC. | · EA older | $11.99 | 4,256 76% | 128k | $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) | StudioGoupil |
 | HellSign | older | $19.99 | 2,147 67% | 64k | $1.3M (exactly $1,287,556) | Ballistic Interactive |
 | The Classrooms | · EA older | $12.99 | 3,040 89% | 91k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,688) | Xefier Games, Hillcrest Games Inc. |
 | Fear Therapy | · EA older | $4.99 | 3,630 68% | 109k | $543k (exactly $543,411) | Black Flag Studios |
 | Ghost Town | $24.99 | 565 95% | 17k | $424k (exactly $423,580) | Fireproof Games | |
 | Lucifer Within Us | older | $19.99 | 635 73% | 19k | $381k (exactly $380,809) | Kitfox Games |
 | Demons' Timeline | $10.99 | 1,046 97% | 31k | $345k (exactly $344,866) | DigitalCats | |
 | Ghost Janitors | $9.99 | 917 87% | 28k | $275k (exactly $274,825) | Interactive Wave Studio | |
 | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
 | DYSTHANASIA | $24.99 | 334 88% | 10k | $250k (exactly $250,400) | Madowaku Kobo | |
 | Project Unknown | $9.99 | 776 81% | 23k | $233k (exactly $232,567) | PsychoRavens | |
 | Unpossess: Exorcism Simulator | $14.99 | 373 70% | 11k | $168k (exactly $167,738) | Chreseeba Games | |
 | HELLSEED: All Chapters | $19.99 | 265 73% | 8.0k | $159k (exactly $158,920) | Profenix Studio SRLS | |
 | Lost Lullabies: The Orphanage Chronicles | $10.99 | 445 70% | 13k | $147k (exactly $146,716) | Pugsy Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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