Games › Investigation › Investigation + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Investigation game?
Investigation + Futuristic
Of 63 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 126 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×707 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 126 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) |
| Top 5% | $336k (exactly $335,731) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 63 |
| Released games | 182 |
| Announced | 126 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Futuristic
- 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
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.98 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.98 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 5,457 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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
Operation: Tango 2021 · $4.3M 
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative 2022 · $4.3M 
The Talos Principle: Reawakened 2025 · $1.3M 
Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure 2021 · $1.0M 
No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES 2025 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Operation: Tango | older | $19.99 | 7,167 86% | 215k | $4.3M (exactly $4,298,050) | Clever Plays |
| | AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative | older | $39.99 | 3,571 86% | 107k | $4.3M (exactly $4,284,129) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | The Talos Principle: Reawakened | $39.99 | 1,085 90% | 33k | $1.3M (exactly $1,301,674) | Croteam | |
| | Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure | older | $15.99 | 2,158 91% | 65k | $1.0M (exactly $1,035,193) | DigiTales Interactive |
| | No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES | $39.99 | 835 79% | 25k | $1.0M (exactly $1,001,750) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. | |
 | Scene Investigators | older | $24.99 | 961 74% | 29k | $720k (exactly $720,462) | EQ Studios |
 | Old Skies | $19.99 | 969 93% | 29k | $581k (exactly $581,109) | Wadjet Eye Games | |
 | Stellar Code | $24.98 | 448 97% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,731) | Fragaria | |
 | Machinika: Museum | older | $7.99 | 1,184 91% | 36k | $284k (exactly $283,805) | Littlefield Studio |
 | Subsurface Circular | older | $5.99 | 1,496 94% | 45k | $269k (exactly $268,831) | Bithell Games |
 | Machinika: Atlas | $11.99 | 574 76% | 17k | $206k (exactly $206,468) | Littlefield Studio | |
 | QUIET DAN | $1.99 | 1,280 93% | 38k | $76k (exactly $76,416) | ВСЖ, ozon671games | |
 | Mars Vice | $24.99 | 70 97% | 2.1k | $52k (exactly $52,479) | Rho Labyrinths GmbH | |
 | 52Hertz | $14.99 | 69 82% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | Moonlit Apple | |
 | Into The Darkness VR | · EA | $19.99 | 35 37% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,990) | Cosmos Games, 9 lives |
 | Au Revoir | $4.99 | 92 95% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Invisible Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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