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Should I ship a Detective Life Sim?
Life Sim + Detective
Of 37 developers who shipped a Detective Life 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×369 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 58 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $31,468) |
| Top 5% | $175k (exactly $175,112) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Immersive Sim, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Emotional
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,072 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
Anonymous Hacker Simulator 2024 · $444k 
The Test: Final Revelation 2020 · $316k 
Cellveillance 2025 · $255k 
The Good Life 2021 · $178k 
On Your Tail 2024 · $175k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Anonymous Hacker Simulator | older | $19.99 | 741 85% | 22k | $444k (exactly $444,378) | Sicarius |
| | The Test: Final Revelation | older | $1.99 | 5,286 97% | 159k | $316k (exactly $315,574) | Randumb Studios |
| | Cellveillance | $15.99 | 531 85% | 16k | $255k (exactly $254,721) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
| | The Good Life | older | $29.99 | 198 74% | 5.9k | $178k (exactly $178,141) | White Owls Inc. |
| | On Your Tail | $19.99 | 292 87% | 8.8k | $175k (exactly $175,112) | Memorable Games | |
 | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
 | Sister Ray | $11.99 | 410 95% | 12k | $147k (exactly $147,477) | The Growing Stones | |
 | Shale Hill Secrets | $14.99 | 245 80% | 7.4k | $110k (exactly $110,176) | Love-Joint | |
 | Malware | older | $2.99 | 1,141 87% | 34k | $102k (exactly $102,348) | Odd Games |
 | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | WANTED: Wild Sluts 🔞 | $14.99 | 140 68% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,958) | Lewd Star | |
 | Barbara: Sex Story | $14.99 | 107 83% | 3.2k | $48k (exactly $48,118) | Juicy Peach Games 🍑 | |
 | Toxic Marriage Punisher | $11.99 | 122 72% | 3.7k | $44k (exactly $43,883) | 風紋探偵事務所 | |
 | Lust Night💋 | $9.99 | 105 72% | 3.2k | $31k (exactly $31,468) | Play and Cum 💦 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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