Do I ship it?

GamesMultiple EndingsMultiple Endings + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Multiple Endings game?

Multiple Endings + Detective

Of 290 developers who shipped a Detective Multiple Endings 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.. 539 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 539 games are announced against 163 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 539 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Multiple Endings + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 290
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $5.7k → $5.1k → $3.2k → $2.4k → $4.2k → $898 (still earning) → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Multiple Endings + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 290
Bottom 30% $594 (exactly $594)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,394)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,236)
Top 5% $314k (exactly $313,756)
Developers, 2 yr 290
Released games 769
Announced 539
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 flat on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Multiple Endings
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
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
Multiple Endings; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Visual Novel
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 54,197 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 146 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 539 games are announced against 163 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds128 devs · median $65k · 93 announced
  2. + WuxiaFair11 devs · median $230k · 18 announced
  3. + Level EditorFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair32 devs · median $5.8k · 42 announced
  5. + SuperheroFair15 devs · median $4.5k · 22 announced
  6. + 4 Player LocalFair10 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  7. + Escape RoomFair37 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  8. + GamblingFair30 devs · median $1.8k · 42 announced
  9. + TriviaFair14 devs · median $1.7k · 15 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair40 devs · median $599 · 49 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair176 devs · median $598 · 180 announced
  12. + Arena ShooterFair18 devs · median $597 · 16 announced

All 214 pairs on the Multiple Endings page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Persona 5 Royal older $59.99 91,682 96% 2.8M $165M (exactly $165,000,095) ATLUS
Persona 4 Golden older $19.99 71,306 97% 2.1M $43M (exactly $42,762,208) ATLUS
Magical Girl Witch Trials $29.99 29,869 96% 896k $27M (exactly $26,873,139) Acacia, Re,AER
Contraband Police older $29.99 24,882 95% 746k $22M (exactly $22,386,335) Crazy Rocks
Return of the Obra Dinn older $19.99 32,309 96% 969k $19M (exactly $19,375,707) Lucas Pope
Heavy Rain older $19.99 26,503 85% 795k $16M (exactly $15,893,849) Quantic Dream
The Wolf Among Us older $14.99 32,494 97% 975k $15M (exactly $14,612,552) Telltale
Raging Loop older $29.99 10,568 95% 317k $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) KEMCO
Strange Horticulture older $15.99 14,867 94% 446k $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) Bad Viking
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games older $29.99 7,007 92% 210k $6.3M (exactly $6,304,198) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Back to the Dawn $23.99 8,555 94% 257k $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) Metal Head Games
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
Strange Antiquities $17.99 3,288 95% 99k $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) Bad Viking
Zoochosis $24.99 2,200 60% 66k $1.6M (exactly $1,649,340) Clapperheads
再见断刀 $9.99 2,563 92% 77k $768k (exactly $768,131) 非侠游戏
Trials of Innocence $16.99 1,308 91% 39k $667k (exactly $666,688) 猫龙游戏
Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise $15.99 1,054 78% 32k $506k (exactly $505,604) KARMAGAME HK LIMITED
HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator $16.99 937 88% 28k $478k (exactly $477,589) HotBunny
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

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