Do I ship it?

Games › Word Game › Word Game + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Word Game?

Word Game + Detective

Of 82 developers who shipped a Detective Word 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.. 90 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 90 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 90 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Word Game + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 82
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $31k → $1.2k → $989 → $1.3k → $1.3k → $2.2k (still earning) → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Word Game + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 82
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,274)
Top 5% $192k (exactly $191,636)
Developers, 2 yr 82
Released games 174
Announced 90
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 105% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
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
Word Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Visual Novel
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Text-Based
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 12,687 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SurvivalFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  2. + TacticalFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  3. + Point & ClickFair60 devs · median $1.6k · 56 announced
  4. + LootFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 8 announced
  5. + AutomationFair12 devs · median $1.6k · 11 announced
  6. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair55 devs · median $1.4k · 65 announced
  7. + Procedural GenerationFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  8. + CollectathonFair18 devs · median $1.2k · 16 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair91 devs · median $1.2k · 77 announced
  11. + NatureFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 8 announced
  12. + Dungeon CrawlerFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced

All 98 pairs on the Word Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Chants of Sennaar 2023 · $18M Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M The Séance of Blake Manor 2025 · $2.2M Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator 2025 · $2.0M CaseCracker 2022 · $993k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chants of Sennaar older $19.99 30,416 98% 912k $18M (exactly $18,240,475) Rundisc
Cyber Manhunt older $9.99 14,520 92% 436k $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) Aluba Van+
The Séance of Blake Manor $19.99 3,683 95% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,208,695) Spooky Doorway
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
CaseCracker older $9.99 3,314 89% 99k $993k (exactly $993,206) BlackRobe
The Chrono Jotter older $11.99 1,968 94% 59k $708k (exactly $707,890) Orca Layout
Paper Bride older $7.99 2,030 91% 61k $487k (exactly $486,591) HeartBeat Plus
Roman's Christmas / 罗曼圣诞探案集 older $10.99 1,395 95% 42k $460k (exactly $459,932) SelfCrop Studio
Misty Judgment $8.99 1,170 92% 35k $316k (exactly $315,549) 次元边界
Paper Bride 2 Zangling Village older $9.99 1,010 91% 30k $303k (exactly $302,697) HeartBeat Plus
Cellveillance $15.99 531 85% 16k $255k (exactly $254,721) KARMAGAME HK LIMITED
纸上的魔法使 $29.99 213 89% 6.4k $192k (exactly $191,636) UGUISUKAGURA
CaseCracker3 $12.99 359 84% 11k $140k (exactly $139,902) BlackRobe
Lightracer: For Judge $9.99 462 92% 14k $138k (exactly $138,461) Smartmelon Games
Gensokyo：Presumption of Guilt~Pansies Before Dawn $14.99 250 92% 7.5k $112k (exactly $112,425) 戏壤游戏(Xirang Games)
Insects Awaken $8.99 398 88% 12k $107k (exactly $107,341) HelloMeow
The Simen Rumors $8.00 430 78% 13k $103k (exactly $103,200) 羊之口

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