Should I ship a Detective PvP game?
PvP + Detective
Of 46 developers who shipped a Detective PvP 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.. 76 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 76 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 125% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $4.1k (exactly $4,133) |
| Top 5% | $138k (exactly $137,562) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 98 |
| Announced | 76 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 125% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Investigation, Board Game
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dialogue Heavy, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 3,411 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition 2019 · $16M 
Deceive Inc. 2023 · $2.9M 
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
Perfect Heist 2 2021 · $1.1M 
Grey Hack 2017 · EA · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 10,810 89% | 324k | $16M (exactly $16,211,757) | h.a.n.d., Inc., Media.Vision Inc. |
| | Deceive Inc. | older | $19.99 | 4,755 84% | 143k | $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) | Sweet Bandits Studios |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Perfect Heist 2 | older | $9.99 | 3,711 94% | 111k | $1.1M (exactly $1,112,187) | yeswecamp |
| | Grey Hack | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,801 90% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) | Loading Home |
 | Oh Deer | older | $9.99 | 2,125 84% | 64k | $637k (exactly $636,862) | Cozy Cabin Studios |
 | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
 | West Hunt | older | $9.99 | 1,522 84% | 46k | $456k (exactly $456,143) | NewGen |
 | Clue/Cluedo | older | $14.99 | 489 89% | 15k | $220k (exactly $219,903) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
 | KILLER INN | · EA | $9.99 | 670 44% | 20k | $201k (exactly $200,799) | Square Enix, Tactic Studios |
 | SEVERANCE | · EA | $9.99 | 459 70% | 14k | $138k (exactly $137,562) | Sykes Games |
 | Deadly Trick | · EA | $8.99 | 141 95% | 4.2k | $38k (exactly $38,028) | Finalblow Co. |
 | Blueblood Arena | · EA | $8.99 | 88 96% | 2.6k | $24k (exactly $23,734) | Team Blueblood |
 | 3DMurderMystery TheAshenYou | $18.99 | 38 73% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,649) | ぐだぐだぶとん | |
 | Lateral Thinking Together | · EA | $5.99 | 85 43% | 2.6k | $15k (exactly $15,274) | PushForward |
 | Scotland Yard – Hunting Mister X | $14.99 | 21 23% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | BitBarons GmbH | |
 | 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 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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