Do I ship it?

GamesEscape RoomEscape Room + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Escape Room game?

Escape Room + Detective

Of 34 developers who shipped a Detective Escape Room 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is flat on the market; 28 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 28 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Escape Room + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $3.6k → $1.2k → $2.4k → $1.9k → $4.0k → $1.2k (still earning) → $653 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Escape Room + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,414)
Top 5% $627k (exactly $626,749)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 144
Announced 28
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 flat on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Escape Room
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Escape Room; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Investigation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 7,176 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Escape Room with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationStrong odds36 devs · median $3.6k · 26 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpFair31 devs · median $14k · 32 announced
  3. + Psychological HorrorFair78 devs · median $4.7k · 70 announced
  4. + Choices MatterFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  5. + SupernaturalFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 13 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair38 devs · median $2.7k · 25 announced
  7. + MysteryFair122 devs · median $2.7k · 108 announced
  8. + Visual NovelFair17 devs · median $2.7k · 15 announced
  9. + Female ProtagonistFair18 devs · median $2.5k · 18 announced
  10. + HorrorFair96 devs · median $2.4k · 80 announced
  11. + Multiple EndingsFair37 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  12. + AdventureFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced

All 36 pairs on the Escape Room page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
We Were Here Forever older $17.99 16,256 90% 488k $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) Total Mayhem Games
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games older $29.99 7,007 92% 210k $6.3M (exactly $6,304,198) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
The House of Da Vinci older $19.99 6,710 85% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) Blue Brain Games
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise older $19.99 5,901 95% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) Yak & Co
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
The Room Three older $5.99 12,997 95% 390k $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) Fireproof Games
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes older $19.99 3,240 80% 97k $1.9M (exactly $1,943,028) Frogwares
The House of Da Vinci 2 older $19.99 2,051 90% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Blue Brain Games
Cube Escape Collection older $4.99 7,636 97% 229k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,109) Rusty Lake
Down in Bermuda older $19.99 1,603 89% 48k $961k (exactly $961,319) Yak & Co
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Parallel Experiment $9.99 702 84% 21k $210k (exactly $210,389) Eleven Puzzles
My Fav Chill Streamer Dies a Million Times|ゆるゆる生配信する推しは100万回死ぬ $34.99 114 92% 3.4k $120k (exactly $119,666) VELUX STUDIO
We Escaped a Twisted Game $4.99 792 94% 24k $119k (exactly $118,562) Deluded Games
Secrets of Blackrock Manor - Escape Room $9.99 222 80% 6.7k $67k (exactly $66,533) Biri Biri
Escape From Crimson Manor: Trapped Together $12.99 78 69% 2.3k $30k (exactly $30,397) MediaCity Games
Fixer Undercover $17.99 34 91% 1.0k $18k (exactly $18,350) Creativity AR
Escape from Mutation Station $3.99 87 96% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,414) Jay Marksman
Advent: Dawn $16.99 19 89% 570 $9.7k (exactly $9,684) Spire Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.