Do I ship it?

Games › Procedural Generation › Procedural Generation + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Procedural Generation game?

Procedural Generation + Detective

Of 29 developers who shipped a Detective Procedural Generation 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 235% on the market; 30 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 30 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $16k → $7.5k → $2.2k → $27k → $359 → $1.0k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $420 (exactly $420)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Top 5% $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 59
Announced 30
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 235% on the market, supply 90% 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.

Procedural Generation
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
Procedural Generation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Investigation, Open World, Sandbox
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 23,002 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $7.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  4. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  5. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  6. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  11. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds10 devs · median $27k · 40 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M Remnant Records 2024 · $201k Vaudeville 2025 · $170k Logic Town 2023 · $88k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
The Precinct $29.99 7,837 87% 235k $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) Fallen Tree Games Ltd
Remnant Records older $15.99 419 79% 13k $201k (exactly $200,994) Noctiluca Studio
Vaudeville $19.99 283 48% 8.5k $170k (exactly $169,715) Bumblebee Studios
Logic Town older $9.99 292 90% 8.8k $88k (exactly $87,512) Mark Ffrench
Slaughter Horse 2 · EA older $5.99 395 96% 12k $71k (exactly $70,982) Catfood McFly
Doki Doki AI Interrogation older $3.49 485 81% 15k $51k (exactly $50,780) YAMADA
Murderous Muses older $13.99 71 74% 2.1k $30k (exactly $29,799) D'Avekki Studios Ltd
Vegangsters $12.99 69 92% 2.1k $27k (exactly $26,889) Poison Pill Games
Noir Syndrome older $4.99 138 65% 4.1k $21k (exactly $20,659) Glass Knuckle Games
Bounty Trail $6.99 84 52% 2.5k $18k (exactly $17,615) September Games
SusDoku: Clues & Suspects $4.99 37 35% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) MyNeuronal
Detective 26 $7.62 15 80% 450 $3.4k (exactly $3,429) TestOneDev
One Way Mirror: AI · EA $14.99 7 85% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Pigi the Wizard and the Feral Yellow Sh… (Pigi the Wizard and the Feral Yellow Sheep)
Silly Suspects · EA $7.99 12 75% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Classy Games
Blightseed $6.99 12 100% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Zen of Mars

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