Games › Strategy › Strategy + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Strategy game?
Strategy + Detective
Of 153 developers who shipped a Detective Strategy 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.. 227 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89. 227 games are announced against 92 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 55% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $358 (exactly $358) |
| Top 25% | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 5% | $175k (exactly $174,814) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 153 |
| Released games | 417 |
| Announced | 227 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 55% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 21,610 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 77 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 227 games are announced against 92 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Batman™: Arkham Knight 2015 · $67M 
Persona 4 Golden 2020 · $43M 
L.A. Noire 2011 · $19M 
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition 2019 · $16M 
Back to the Dawn 2025 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman™: Arkham Knight | older | $19.99 | 111,190 92% | 3.3M | $67M (exactly $66,680,643) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Persona 4 Golden | older | $19.99 | 71,306 97% | 2.1M | $43M (exactly $42,762,208) | ATLUS |
| | L.A. Noire | older | $19.99 | 31,099 85% | 933k | $19M (exactly $18,650,070) | Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds |
| | 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. |
| | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
 | This Is the Police | older | $14.99 | 9,153 82% | 275k | $4.1M (exactly $4,116,104) | Weappy Studio |
 | Deceive Inc. | older | $19.99 | 4,755 84% | 143k | $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) | Sweet Bandits Studios |
 | This Is the Police 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,330 77% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,396,901) | Weappy Studio |
 | Staffer Case: A Supernatural Mystery Adventure | older | $16.99 | 4,074 93% | 122k | $2.1M (exactly $2,076,518) | Team Tetrapod |
 | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
 | HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator | $16.99 | 937 88% | 28k | $478k (exactly $477,589) | HotBunny | |
 | Misty Judgment | $8.99 | 1,170 92% | 35k | $316k (exactly $315,549) | 次元边界 | |
 | Trainee Death Simulator | $5.99 | 1,746 92% | 52k | $314k (exactly $313,756) | Bone Nail | |
 | The Joker's Game | $11.99 | 486 82% | 15k | $175k (exactly $174,814) | All In Game Co., Limited | |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | 晨昏线 | $9.99 | 427 76% | 13k | $128k (exactly $127,972) | Enter Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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