Do I ship it?

GamesThird-Person ShooterThird-Person Shooter + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Third-Person Shooter?

Third-Person Shooter + Detective

Only 9 developers shipped a Detective Third-Person Shooter 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, The Sinking City 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×6.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 31 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.2 per shipper, while revenue is down 55% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 31 announced, ×6.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Third-Person Shooter + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Third-Person Shooter + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,993)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,114,577)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 37
Announced 31
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Third-Person Shooter
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 128,803 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $450, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Third-Person Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmStrong odds6 devs · median $3.3k · 6 announced
  2. + WesternFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + CollectathonLong shot19 devs · median $599 · 20 announced
  4. + Time ManagementLong shot15 devs · median $538 · 12 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot27 devs · median $479 · 27 announced
  6. + Class-BasedPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  7. + Creature CollectorPoor odds12 devs · median $13k · 15 announced
  8. + DinosaursPoor odds8 devs · median $9.0k · 14 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds38 devs · median $7.2k · 63 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds12 devs · median $6.9k · 70 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $6.9k · 14 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds65 devs · median $5.1k · 156 announced

All 163 pairs on the Third-Person Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Batman™: Arkham Origins older $19.99 45,536 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,307,939) WB Games Montreal, Splash Damage
L.A. Noire older $19.99 31,099 85% 933k $19M (exactly $18,650,070) Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls older $29.99 7,405 81% 222k $6.7M (exactly $6,662,278) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
The Sinking City Remastered older $39.99 5,361 75% 161k $6.4M (exactly $6,431,592) Frogwares
Max Payne older $9.99 12,773 88% 383k $3.8M (exactly $3,828,068) Remedy Entertainment
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne older $9.99 12,102 93% 363k $3.6M (exactly $3,626,969) Remedy Entertainment
Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut older $24.99 3,243 65% 97k $2.4M (exactly $2,431,277) Rising Star Games
Alan Wake's American Nightmare older $8.99 8,352 74% 251k $2.3M (exactly $2,252,534) Remedy Entertainment
The Sinking City 2 $49.99 1,410 83% 42k $2.1M (exactly $2,114,577) Frogwares
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
KILLER INN · EA $9.99 670 44% 20k $201k (exactly $200,799) Square Enix, Tactic Studios
Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split $24.99 24 50% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) Dead Drop Studios LLC
Limb Chopper $9.99 6 16% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Jade Pixel Games
Bloodplague Lockdown $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Speed King Games
SUSPECTO · EA $5.99 2 0% 60 $359 (exactly $359) YORQ Studios
Murder&Spies $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) navlikesbunnies
Fortune $15.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) BiKun
Stealth Employee $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Mr. Lemon Games

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