Should I ship a Mystery FMV?
FMV + Mystery
Of 61 developers who shipped a Mystery FMV 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.. 96 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $31k, ×65 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $5.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×869 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 96 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $5.1k (exactly $5,124) |
|---|---|
| Median | $31k (exactly $31,036) |
| Top 25% | $142k (exactly $141,592) |
| Top 5% | $413k (exactly $412,987) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 173 |
| Announced | 96 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 25% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- FMV; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Cinematic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 58,679 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $5.2k. 4 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different setting or mood, 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
Revenge on gold diggers 2025 · $9.8M 
428: Shibuya Scramble 2018 · $5.6M 
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M 
Obduction 2016 · $2.7M 
At Dead Of Night 2020 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Revenge on gold diggers | $6.99 | 46,610 80% | 1.4M | $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) | 前方工作室 | |
| | 428: Shibuya Scramble | older | $49.99 | 3,767 94% | 113k | $5.6M (exactly $5,649,370) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction G… (Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction Games) |
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
| | Obduction | older | $29.99 | 3,032 78% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,727,890) | Cyan, Inc. |
| | At Dead Of Night | older | $15.99 | 3,289 94% | 99k | $1.6M (exactly $1,577,733) | Baggy Cat Ltd. |
 | The Centennial Case : A Shijima Story | older | $49.99 | 1,033 79% | 31k | $1.5M (exactly $1,549,190) | Square Enix |
 | The Complex | older | $14.99 | 3,310 78% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,488,507) | Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, Lit… (Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, Little Jade Productions) |
 | Stories Untold | older | $9.99 | 4,357 86% | 131k | $1.3M (exactly $1,305,793) | Screen Burn |
 | Eclipsium | $12.99 | 3,306 91% | 99k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) | Housefire | |
 | Home Safety Hotline | older | $14.99 | 2,763 90% | 83k | $1.2M (exactly $1,242,521) | Night Signal Entertainment |
 | 极速营救 | $9.99 | 1,860 86% | 56k | $557k (exactly $557,442) | 优映文化, 想象颗粒 | |
 | Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise | $15.99 | 1,054 78% | 32k | $506k (exactly $505,604) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | FLAM EVAW | $9.99 | 1,378 95% | 41k | $413k (exactly $412,987) | 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司 | |
 | Game Of Fate 3：Clash Of Crowns | $16.79 | 734 85% | 22k | $370k (exactly $369,716) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Love Love Mystery Club | $19.99 | 612 97% | 18k | $367k (exactly $367,016) | LuminDrive | |
 | 我打不过漂亮的她们 | $10.99 | 1,111 95% | 33k | $366k (exactly $366,297) | 想象颗粒 | |
 | Blood Money: Lethal Eden | $8.99 | 1,262 91% | 38k | $340k (exactly $340,361) | 碧火互娱 | |
 | Dead Take | $14.99 | 752 87% | 23k | $338k (exactly $338,174) | Surgent Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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