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Should I ship an Investigation FMV?
FMV + Investigation
Only 17 developers shipped an Investigation FMV 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, Misty Judgment, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 38 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×664 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 38 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.6k (exactly $2,638) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.1k (exactly $5,124) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,890) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,549) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 38 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 1%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FMV
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- FMV, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 1990's, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,386 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.7k. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalStrong odds
- + Post-apocalypticStrong odds
- + StrategyStrong odds
- + Multiple EndingsStrong odds
- + Immersive SimStrong odds
- + Choices MatterStrong odds
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + RPGStrong odds
Comparable games
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M 
Her Story 2015 · $2.5M 
At Dead Of Night 2020 · $1.6M 
STASIS: BONE TOTEM 2023 · $1.2M 
Contradiction: Spot The Liar 2015 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
| | Her Story | older | $9.99 | 8,367 89% | 251k | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,590) | Sam Barlow |
| | At Dead Of Night | older | $15.99 | 3,289 94% | 99k | $1.6M (exactly $1,577,733) | Baggy Cat Ltd. |
| | STASIS: BONE TOTEM | older | $19.99 | 2,025 93% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
| | Contradiction: Spot The Liar | older | $12.99 | 2,838 94% | 85k | $1.1M (exactly $1,105,969) | Baggy Cat Ltd. |
 | Telling Lies | older | $19.99 | 1,250 62% | 38k | $750k (exactly $749,625) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee L… (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee Limited) |
 | Misty Judgment | $8.99 | 1,170 92% | 35k | $316k (exactly $315,549) | 次元边界 | |
 | Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? | older | $14.99 | 669 71% | 20k | $301k (exactly $300,849) | Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media |
 | The Solitaire Conspiracy | older | $11.99 | 742 89% | 22k | $267k (exactly $266,897) | Bithell Games |
 | Killing Time: Resurrected | $24.99 | 320 92% | 9.6k | $240k (exactly $239,904) | Nightdive Studios, 3DO | |
 | 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) | |
 | Decade | $9.99 | 129 96% | 3.9k | $39k (exactly $38,661) | Last Piscean | |
 | 林葬屋前传：冥声 | $6.99 | 133 83% | 4.0k | $28k (exactly $27,890) | MYSTERY CROWN, 火蜥蜴文化 | |
 | 执念刑警之消失的证人 | $3.99 | 229 88% | 6.9k | $27k (exactly $27,411) | 迷雾工作室 | |
 | The Case of the Golden Night Apartment | $9.99 | 89 44% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,673) | Buddy Studio | |
 | 法医探案团之碎嘴小诗 | $3.99 | 135 77% | 4.1k | $16k (exactly $16,160) | 芒果互娱 | |
 | Below | $8.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $5.1k (exactly $5,124) | Gamedev Guy LLC | |
 | Project DeepWeb: Eternal Nightmare | $9.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | NightCat Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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