Games › Idler › Idler + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Idler?
Idler + Detective
Only 18 developers shipped a Detective Idler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Graces: Posthumous Wish, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 19 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $478 (exactly $478) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $4.5k (exactly $4,549) |
| Top 5% | $45k (exactly $44,824) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 155% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Visual Novel, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 466 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashFair
- + DrivingFair
- + LootFair
- + FPSFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes 2023 · $182k 
1997 2023 · $69k 
Rabbit Hole 2022 · $63k 
Family curse 2023 · $47k 
Graces: Posthumous Wish 2024 · $45k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes | older | $9.99 | 606 84% | 18k | $182k (exactly $181,618) | HeartBeat Plus |
| | 1997 | older | $9.99 | 231 92% | 6.9k | $69k (exactly $69,231) | Hit'n'Run Digital Studio, RUZURA Intera… (Hit'n'Run Digital Studio, RUZURA Interactive) |
| | Rabbit Hole | older | $7.99 | 264 78% | 7.9k | $63k (exactly $63,281) | Nikita Ustinov, Nikolay Lazarev |
| | Family curse | older | $6.99 | 222 90% | 6.7k | $47k (exactly $46,553) | Stork Game |
| | Graces: Posthumous Wish | $7.99 | 187 93% | 5.6k | $45k (exactly $44,824) | TomoToro | |
 | Cruel Reality: A horrible dream | older | $29.99 | 38 97% | 1.1k | $34k (exactly $34,189) | Keer&Deem Creations |
 | Reborn - Season 1: New Life | older | $9.99 | 112 80% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $33,566) | Woundead |
 | The Sin | older | $4.99 | 222 87% | 6.7k | $33k (exactly $33,233) | Baba Nura |
 | Lust Mansion 🔞 | older | $9.99 | 104 79% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $31,169) | Lust Desires 🖤 |
 | 《奇门遁甲》 | older | $2.99 | 280 88% | 8.4k | $25k (exactly $25,116) | CSTG-小光 |
 | Desktop Detective | $4.99 | 144 88% | 4.3k | $22k (exactly $21,557) | Conradical Games | |
 | EmyLiveShow: Demons & Mistresses Tale | $10.99 | 30 83% | 900 | $9.9k (exactly $9,891) | Team Emily | |
 | Sweet Love (Chapter 1) | $12.99 | 17 82% | 510 | $6.6k (exactly $6,625) | Zarioly | |
 | VIOLENT RUSH | $3.99 | 38 97% | 1.1k | $4.5k (exactly $4,549) | Sky Seekers | |
 | Chilling Silence | $3.99 | 16 56% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | podushki | |
 | Bo Le Judging Horses | $59.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $1.8k (exactly $1,800) | SUNYU Games | |
 | Shoplifter: No Escape | $2.99 | 19 73% | 570 | $1.7k (exactly $1,704) | Lustful Universe | |
 | Rattenwalzer -Песня о борьбе и жизни человеческой- | · EA | $6.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) | Eydas |
 | New Life: SILENT RIVER | $6.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | eagerbeavergames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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