Should I ship a Detective FPS?
FPS + Detective
Of 38 developers who shipped a Detective FPS 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.. 85 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×883 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 85 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 85 |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- FPS; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 18,625 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Contraband Police 2023 · $22M 
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire 2026 · $13M 
Call of Cthulhu® 2018 · $6.6M 
Supraworld 2025 · EA · $1.3M 
Perfect Heist 2 2021 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Contraband Police | older | $29.99 | 24,882 95% | 746k | $22M (exactly $22,386,335) | Crazy Rocks |
| | MOUSE: P.I. For Hire | $29.99 | 14,604 93% | 438k | $13M (exactly $13,139,219) | Fumi Games | |
| | Call of Cthulhu® | older | $19.99 | 10,962 79% | 329k | $6.6M (exactly $6,573,911) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Supraworld | · EA | $29.99 | 1,471 91% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) | Supra Games |
| | Perfect Heist 2 | older | $9.99 | 3,711 94% | 111k | $1.1M (exactly $1,112,187) | yeswecamp |
 | GET EVEN | older | $29.99 | 923 76% | 28k | $830k (exactly $830,423) | The Farm 51 |
 | NUTS | older | $24.99 | 884 88% | 27k | $663k (exactly $662,735) | Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi |
 | Fallen girl - Black rose and the fire of desire | older | $14.99 | 1,204 70% | 36k | $541k (exactly $541,439) | BoRoBoRoGame |
 | The Other Side | · EA | $13.99 | 1,181 93% | 35k | $496k (exactly $495,666) | Vectora Games |
 | Supernatural | older | $8.99 | 1,180 63% | 35k | $318k (exactly $318,246) | Hitori De Productions |
 | Kvark | $19.99 | 461 86% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Latest Past, Perun Creative | |
 | Sniper Killer | $11.99 | 618 86% | 19k | $222k (exactly $222,295) | Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare | |
 | Pneumata | $19.99 | 99 48% | 3.0k | $59k (exactly $59,370) | Deadbolt Interactive | |
 | Tache Noire | $16.99 | 50 94% | 1.5k | $25k (exactly $25,485) | StitchedCliffs | |
 | Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split | $24.99 | 24 50% | 720 | $18k (exactly $17,993) | Dead Drop Studios LLC | |
 | House of Empty Names | $5.99 | 88 87% | 2.6k | $16k (exactly $15,814) | Sordar Studios | |
 | Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance | $9.99 | 29 100% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | BYYONI Entertainment |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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