Do I ship it?

Games › Logic › Logic + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Logic game?

Logic + Detective

Of 230 developers who shipped a Detective Logic 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.. 296 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 296 games are announced against 152 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 296 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Logic + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 230
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $2.7k → $1.2k → $1.7k → $1.2k → $3.6k → $1.4k (still earning) → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Logic + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 230
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,793)
Top 5% $322k (exactly $321,985)
Developers, 2 yr 230
Released games 586
Announced 296
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 80% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Logic; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Investigation, Puzzle
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 49,972 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 102 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 296 games are announced against 152 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Logic with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LovecraftianFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  2. + City BuilderFair58 devs · median $3.3k · 74 announced
  3. + NoirFair42 devs · median $2.7k · 59 announced
  4. + HackingFair60 devs · median $2.5k · 67 announced
  5. + VampiresFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 14 announced
  6. + DragonsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 8 announced
  7. + Escape RoomFair54 devs · median $2.1k · 44 announced
  8. + Bullet TimeFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  9. + Inventory ManagementFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  10. + TransportationFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  11. + Automobile SimFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + CookingFair27 devs · median $1.6k · 26 announced

All 200 pairs on the Logic page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M Judgment 2022 · $11M Lost Judgment 2022 · $9.0M Murders on the Yangtze River 2024 · $7.1M The Roottrees are Dead 2025 · $5.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Magical Girl Witch Trials $29.99 29,869 96% 896k $27M (exactly $26,873,139) Acacia, Re,AER
Judgment older $39.99 9,407 93% 282k $11M (exactly $11,285,578) RGG Studio
Lost Judgment older $39.99 7,461 93% 224k $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) RGG Studio
Murders on the Yangtze River older $14.99 15,833 96% 475k $7.1M (exactly $7,120,100) OMEGAMES STUDIO
The Roottrees are Dead $19.99 9,700 96% 291k $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) Evil Trout Inc.
Hacknet older $9.99 16,910 93% 507k $5.1M (exactly $5,067,927) Team Fractal Alligator
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise older $19.99 5,901 95% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) Yak & Co
Blacksad: Under the Skin older $19.99 5,356 83% 161k $3.2M (exactly $3,211,993) Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive
The Incident at Galley House $19.99 4,087 94% 123k $2.5M (exactly $2,450,974) William Rous, Evil Trout Inc.
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition older $16.99 3,096 88% 93k $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest $24.99 922 89% 28k $691k (exactly $691,223) Team Tetrapod
Trials of Innocence $16.99 1,308 91% 39k $667k (exactly $666,688) 猫龙游戏
Syberia - Remastered $29.99 724 70% 22k $651k (exactly $651,383) Virtuallyz Gaming, Microids Studio Paris
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise $15.99 1,054 78% 32k $506k (exactly $505,604) KARMAGAME HK LIMITED
Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division $14.99 850 97% 26k $382k (exactly $382,245) Thomas Hsu
The Shell Part III: Paradiso $19.99 622 96% 19k $373k (exactly $373,013) Innocent Grey

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.