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Should I ship a Detective Roguelite?
Roguelite + Detective
Of 24 developers who shipped a Detective Roguelite 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.9 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 $480; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×328 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,394) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $26,889) |
| Top 5% | $156k (exactly $155,800) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 48 |
| Announced | 40 |
| 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 down 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Hand-drawn, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,793 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
GNOSIA 2022 · $3.6M 
Feed The Pit 2026 · $190k 
Betrayal At Club Low 2022 · $161k 
Superhero Simulator 2025 · EA · $156k 
Dead Town Tales 2023 · $150k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | GNOSIA | older | $24.99 | 4,855 93% | 146k | $3.6M (exactly $3,639,794) | Petit Depotto |
| | Feed The Pit | $9.99 | 635 97% | 19k | $190k (exactly $190,310) | Curious Fox Sox | |
| | Betrayal At Club Low | older | $9.99 | 538 97% | 16k | $161k (exactly $161,239) | Cosmo D Studios |
| | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
| | Dead Town Tales | older | $11.99 | 417 82% | 13k | $150k (exactly $149,995) | 拾遗工作室 |
 | Traditional Chinese Medicine Simulator | · EA older | $14.99 | 304 96% | 9.1k | $137k (exactly $136,709) | 曲波 |
 | Rina's Undercover Train Operation | $13.99 | 286 70% | 8.6k | $120k (exactly $120,034) | Metamorphose | |
 | The Testing Chamber | older | $4.99 | 697 96% | 21k | $104k (exactly $104,341) | Randumb Studios |
 | Super Drift Blade | $6.99 | 351 94% | 11k | $74k (exactly $73,605) | Liujiajun | |
 | Slaughter Horse 2 | · EA older | $5.99 | 395 96% | 12k | $71k (exactly $70,982) | Catfood McFly |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
 | Vegangsters | $12.99 | 69 92% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $26,889) | Poison Pill Games | |
 | Subway Exorcist Girl | $1.99 | 306 82% | 9.2k | $18k (exactly $18,268) | 纤指游戏 | |
 | Bounty Trail | $6.99 | 84 52% | 2.5k | $18k (exactly $17,615) | September Games | |
 | Long Live Caesar | $9.99 | 51 78% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs | |
 | Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance | $9.99 | 29 100% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | BYYONI Entertainment |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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