Games › Investigation › Investigation + Fantasy
Should I ship a Fantasy Investigation game?
Investigation + Fantasy
Of 104 developers who shipped a Fantasy Investigation 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.. 197 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×360 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 197 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $8.9k (exactly $8,869) |
| Top 5% | $171k (exactly $170,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 104 |
| Released games | 368 |
| Announced | 197 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Fantasy
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 6,468 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 66 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 197 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
The Forgotten City 2021 · $8.4M 
Sanfu 2023 · $5.7M 
The Thaumaturge 2024 · $4.1M 
Wytchwood 2021 · $2.4M 
Firmament 2023 · $950k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Forgotten City | older | $24.99 | 11,159 96% | 335k | $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) | Modern Storyteller |
| | Sanfu | older | $10.99 | 17,323 82% | 520k | $5.7M (exactly $5,711,393) | Shiying Studio |
| | The Thaumaturge | older | $34.99 | 3,888 81% | 117k | $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) | Fool's Theory |
| | Wytchwood | older | $19.99 | 4,030 92% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,416,791) | Alientrap |
| | Firmament | older | $34.99 | 905 72% | 27k | $950k (exactly $949,978) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
 | 7 Days to End with You | older | $7.99 | 3,327 87% | 100k | $797k (exactly $797,482) | Lizardry |
 | Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? | $14.99 | 1,513 95% | 45k | $680k (exactly $680,396) | Stately Snail | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Old Skies | $19.99 | 969 93% | 29k | $581k (exactly $581,109) | Wadjet Eye Games | |
 | A Guidebook of Babel | older | $14.99 | 877 92% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | StarryStarry |
 | Best Served Cold | $17.99 | 671 87% | 20k | $362k (exactly $362,139) | Rogueside | |
 | ギルド探求団へようこそ！ | $3.99 | 1,470 98% | 44k | $176k (exactly $175,959) | ぱるそに工房 | |
 | The End of the Sun | $24.99 | 228 97% | 6.8k | $171k (exactly $170,932) | The End of the Sun Forge | |
 | Chronoquartz | $9.99 | 510 98% | 15k | $153k (exactly $152,847) | Infinite Stairs | |
 | Lavender Quartz 境界秤動 | $11.99 | 300 95% | 9.0k | $108k (exactly $107,910) | Edanoue, Inc. | |
 | The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time | $17.99 | 146 86% | 4.4k | $79k (exactly $78,796) | Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobe… (Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobee, Kyle Chuang) | |
 | Shadows of the Afterland | $14.99 | 135 95% | 4.1k | $61k (exactly $60,710) | Aruma Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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