Do I ship it?

Games › Sokoban › Sokoban + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Sokoban?

Sokoban + Detective

Only 18 developers shipped a Detective Sokoban 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, Signal Maze, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 8 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 8 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 8 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sokoban + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $898 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sokoban + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $898 (exactly $898)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $10,793)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 26
Announced 8
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.50

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 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Sokoban
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid pushing rules and level files
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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Sokoban; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Logic, Strategy
Price point
$2.50 typical · top 25% priced $5.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Stylized, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $5.99 or above; the middle game at $2.50.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 196 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $180, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 8 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + CollectathonFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 9 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  3. + CatsFair15 devs · median $776 · 16 announced
  4. + LogicFair203 devs · median $718 · 176 announced
  5. + Grid-Based MovementFair143 devs · median $657 · 135 announced
  6. + PuzzleFair294 devs · median $599 · 288 announced
  7. + ProgrammingFair8 devs · median $599 · 10 announced
  8. + 3D PlatformerFair12 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  9. + StrategyFair141 devs · median $539 · 125 announced
  10. + Puzzle PlatformerFair51 devs · median $358 · 49 announced
  11. + FuturisticLong shot21 devs · median $179 · 20 announced
  12. + Open WorldPoor odds6 devs · median $19k · 16 announced

All 50 pairs on the Sokoban page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Signal Maze 2025 · $11k Bloxpath 2025 · $11k Return home 2021 · $2.2k Margarita (Berkeley's Maid: Remake Edition) 2024 · EA · $2.1k Ornate Machina: The Thousand Trials 2025 · $1.1k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Signal Maze $14.99 24 95% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) theArkitect
Bloxpath $5.99 60 95% 1.8k $11k (exactly $10,782) agoo
Return home older $5.99 12 83% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) RZGames
Margarita (Berkeley's Maid: Remake Edition) · EA $1.60 43 60% 1.3k $2.1k (exactly $2,064) Muharukahana Studio, Cydron
Ornate Machina: The Thousand Trials $2.99 12 100% 360 $1.1k (exactly $1,076) 大隆盛工作室
Puzzledom $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) FWGames
7 Days Before the End $0.99 29 100% 870 $861 (exactly $861) TrucyAkina
博物魅影 $1.99 12 91% 360 $716 (exactly $716) 图南工作室(Tunan Studio)
Math Seeker older $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) 衔尾猫工作室
My Summer Jobs: Dialing for Dreams! older $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Studio Semitorus
Dark Flowers: Tiny Starlight $1.99 6 100% 180 $358 (exactly $358) Dawnwing House
Brain Freeze $2.99 2 100% 60 $179 (exactly $179) ggidk
Starry Trace $2.02 2 100% 60 $121 (exactly $121) Pomegranate Games

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