Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Detective
Only 12 developers shipped a Detective Perma Death 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, Vegangsters, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.2k against a market of $480. 16 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,206) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) |
| Top 5% | $27k (exactly $26,889) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 16 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 170% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Perma Death
- Price point
- $5.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 174 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Scrutinized 2020 · $394k 
Agarta 2022 · $45k 
Amber Alert 2024 · $29k 
Vegangsters 2025 · $27k 
Long Live Caesar 2024 · $15k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Scrutinized | older | $9.99 | 1,313 89% | 39k | $394k (exactly $393,506) | Reflect Studios |
| | Agarta | older | $2.99 | 498 71% | 15k | $45k (exactly $44,671) | FF Digital |
| | Amber Alert | older | $4.99 | 192 63% | 5.8k | $29k (exactly $28,742) | MEATBREAD, VirtualVillain |
| | Vegangsters | $12.99 | 69 92% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $26,889) | Poison Pill Games | |
| | Long Live Caesar | $9.99 | 51 78% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs | |
 | Halt | older | $4.99 | 60 70% | 1.8k | $9.0k (exactly $8,982) | Nightmare Ink Publishing |
 | TradingLife | · EA | $11.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) | Fun(ctor) Studio |
 | Amber Alert TOTAL VR | $5.99 | 19 47% | 570 | $3.4k (exactly $3,414) | MEATBREAD, VirtualVillain | |
 | Martha | older | $3.99 | 27 62% | 810 | $3.2k (exactly $3,232) | Affordable Cat |
 | Aberration Analyst | older | $4.99 | 17 82% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | Schmidt Workshops |
 | Overton | $14.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Casey Blase | |
 | 201 - The Bad Number | $4.02 | 10 80% | 300 | $1.2k (exactly $1,206) | Pavel Kopylov | |
 | Anomaly Observer | · EA | $7.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $479 (exactly $479) | Letalis Entertainment |
 | Later Elevator | $3.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | blinyadebil | |
 | Case Sealed | · EA | $1.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $298 (exactly $298) | Mergen Games |
 | Dark Manor | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | GearheadFoxGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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