Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Detective
Of 130 developers who shipped a Detective Immersive 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.. 216 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×276 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 216 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,565) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $45,420) |
| Top 5% | $413k (exactly $412,987) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 130 |
| Released games | 294 |
| Announced | 216 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Immersive Sim
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Puzzle
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 37,584 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 6 in 10 of the 69 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 216 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
Contraband Police 2023 · $22M 
Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M 
Pathologic 2 2019 · $10M 
The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M 
Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M | 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 |
| | Shadows of Doubt | $24.99 | 14,646 82% | 439k | $11M (exactly $10,980,106) | ColePowered Games | |
| | Pathologic 2 | older | $34.99 | 9,554 92% | 287k | $10M (exactly $10,028,834) | Ice-Pick Lodge |
| | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
| | Cyber Manhunt | older | $9.99 | 14,520 92% | 436k | $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) | Aluba Van+ |
 | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
 | Pathologic 3 | $34.99 | 2,528 80% | 76k | $2.7M (exactly $2,653,642) | Ice-Pick Lodge | |
 | DEEMO -Reborn- | older | $24.99 | 3,188 87% | 96k | $2.4M (exactly $2,390,044) | Rayark International Limited |
 | No Case Should Remain Unsolved | older | $6.99 | 10,332 96% | 310k | $2.2M (exactly $2,166,620) | Somi |
 | Breakout 13 | older | $9.99 | 6,899 87% | 207k | $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) | ALT Lab |
 | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
 | Supraworld | · EA | $29.99 | 1,471 91% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) | Supra Games |
 | Desktop Explorer | $17.99 | 2,077 96% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,120,957) | Recurring Dream | |
 | Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise | $15.99 | 1,054 78% | 32k | $506k (exactly $505,604) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | FLAM EVAW | $9.99 | 1,378 95% | 41k | $413k (exactly $412,987) | 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司 | |
 | The Darkest Files | $19.99 | 668 95% | 20k | $401k (exactly $400,600) | Paintbucket Games | |
 | Game Of Fate 3：Clash Of Crowns | $16.79 | 734 85% | 22k | $370k (exactly $369,716) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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