Do I ship it?

Games › Party Game › Party Game + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Party Game?

Party Game + Detective

Only 16 developers shipped a Detective Party Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, KILLER INN, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 46 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×423 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 46 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 46 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party Game + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.4k → $20k → $150 → $1.2k (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party Game + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,433)
Top 5% $201k (exactly $200,799)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 26
Announced 46
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 600% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Party Game
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Party Game
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 56% positive over 965 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $600, 1 in 4 over $5.4k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 46 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Board GameFair72 devs · median $899 · 98 announced
  2. + RhythmFair11 devs · median $802 · 19 announced
  3. + DeckbuildingFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  4. + Card BattlerFair28 devs · median $449 · 35 announced
  5. + MinigamesPoor odds28 devs · median $4.0k · 66 announced
  6. + RoguelitePoor odds22 devs · median $2.7k · 68 announced
  7. + RoguelikePoor odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 51 announced
  8. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $2.4k · 45 announced
  9. + DestructionPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8k · 79 announced
  10. + DrivingPoor odds28 devs · median $1.7k · 60 announced
  11. + SurvivalPoor odds55 devs · median $1.3k · 135 announced
  12. + HorrorPoor odds61 devs · median $1.3k · 144 announced

All 95 pairs on the Party Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SpyParty 2018 · EA · $855k West Hunt 2023 · $456k KILLER INN 2026 · EA · $201k Deadly Trick 2026 · EA · $38k Hodgepodge Hunch 2023 · $21k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SpyParty · EA older $24.99 1,140 77% 34k $855k (exactly $854,658) Chris Hecker, John Cimino
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
KILLER INN · EA $9.99 670 44% 20k $201k (exactly $200,799) Square Enix, Tactic Studios
Deadly Trick · EA $8.99 141 95% 4.2k $38k (exactly $38,028) Finalblow Co.
Hodgepodge Hunch older $4.99 140 93% 4.2k $21k (exactly $20,958) uracon
Trust No Bunny older $5.99 109 93% 3.3k $20k (exactly $19,587) Friendly Pixel, Inc.
Yesterday's News $11.99 18 83% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Rooibos Games
Idiom Royale $1.99 91 63% 2.7k $5.4k (exactly $5,433) NyxWorks
Hitmen Party older $6.99 21 95% 630 $4.4k (exactly $4,404) Newhead Studio
The Masquerade $4.99 17 100% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Chewa
17 Steps · EA $3.99 10 100% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) SmilingMiles
The Anomaly Department $9.99 3 66% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Buder Games
Let Me Catch You · EA $3.99 5 20% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Aconite Games
ClusterCluck $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) Glintzone Games
桌面塔罗 Desktop Tarot $1.99 4 100% 120 $239 (exactly $239) SpaceWizard64

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