Games › Management › Management + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Management game?
Management + Detective
Of 21 developers who shipped a Detective Management 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.. 55 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×157 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 55 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,691) |
| Top 5% | $99k (exactly $98,594) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 53 |
| Announced | 55 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 50% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Hidden Object
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,006 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Contraband Police 2023 · $22M 
This Is the Police 2016 · $4.1M 
This Is the Police 2 2018 · $2.4M 
Wax Heads 2026 · $228k 
Black Closet 2015 · $148k | 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 |
| | This Is the Police | older | $14.99 | 9,153 82% | 275k | $4.1M (exactly $4,116,104) | Weappy Studio |
| | This Is the Police 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,330 77% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,396,901) | Weappy Studio |
| | Wax Heads | $14.99 | 508 96% | 15k | $228k (exactly $228,448) | Patattie Games | |
| | Black Closet | older | $19.99 | 246 91% | 7.4k | $148k (exactly $147,526) | Hanako Games |
 | Staffer Reborn | older | $4.99 | 959 95% | 29k | $144k (exactly $143,562) | Team Tetrapod |
 | Interrogation: You will be deceived | older | $12.99 | 321 77% | 9.6k | $125k (exactly $125,094) | Critique Gaming |
 | SCP Strategy | older | $6.99 | 556 78% | 17k | $117k (exactly $116,593) | LUXO Interactive |
 | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | Company of Crime | older | $19.99 | 143 51% | 4.3k | $86k (exactly $85,757) | Resistance Games |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios | |
 | Prescribe and Pray | $11.99 | 71 70% | 2.1k | $26k (exactly $25,539) | Nuclear Rabbits | |
 | The Paddock | $5.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $3.1k (exactly $3,055) | Josh Devlin | |
 | Night Shift | $2.99 | 30 66% | 900 | $2.7k (exactly $2,691) | Cyber752 | |
 | Bump in the Night | · EA | $14.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) | Elzolabs |
 | Antidote to despair | $8.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.9k (exactly $1,888) | Gamet | |
 | Ghost Hunter Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) | Prime8 Entertainment, https://www.prime… (Prime8 Entertainment, https://www.prime8entertainment.com) |
 | Black Border 2 | $1.99 | 19 63% | 570 | $1.1k (exactly $1,134) | Bitzooma |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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