Games › Investigation › Investigation + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Investigation game?
Investigation + Detective
Of 571 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 945 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1319 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 945 games are announced against 342 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,465) |
| Top 5% | $627k (exactly $626,749) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 571 |
| Released games | 1,583 |
| Announced | 945 |
| 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 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 85,001 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 283 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 945 games are announced against 342 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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 
Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M 
L.A. Noire 2011 · $19M 
Heavy Rain 2020 · $16M 
Demonologist 2023 · $11M | 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 |
| | Magical Girl Witch Trials | $29.99 | 29,869 96% | 896k | $27M (exactly $26,873,139) | Acacia, Re,AER | |
| | L.A. Noire | older | $19.99 | 31,099 85% | 933k | $19M (exactly $18,650,070) | Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds |
| | Heavy Rain | older | $19.99 | 26,503 85% | 795k | $16M (exactly $15,893,849) | Quantic Dream |
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
 | Judgment | older | $39.99 | 9,407 93% | 282k | $11M (exactly $11,285,578) | RGG Studio |
 | Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter | older | $29.99 | 12,076 80% | 362k | $11M (exactly $10,864,777) | Frogwares |
 | Lost Judgment | older | $39.99 | 7,461 93% | 224k | $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) | RGG Studio |
 | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
 | Murders on the Yangtze River | older | $14.99 | 15,833 96% | 475k | $7.1M (exactly $7,120,100) | OMEGAMES STUDIO |
 | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
 | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
 | The Roottrees are Dead | $19.99 | 9,700 96% | 291k | $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) | Evil Trout Inc. | |
 | Shift At Midnight | $9.99 | 10,147 88% | 304k | $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056) | Bun Muen | |
 | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
 | Escape Simulator 2 | $19.99 | 4,292 92% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) | Pine Studio | |
 | The Incident at Galley House | $19.99 | 4,087 94% | 123k | $2.5M (exactly $2,450,974) | William Rous, Evil Trout Inc. | |
 | The Rise of the Golden Idol | $19.99 | 3,786 92% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,270,464) | Color Gray Games | |
 | The Séance of Blake Manor | $19.99 | 3,683 95% | 110k | $2.2M (exactly $2,208,695) | Spooky Doorway |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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