Do I ship it?

GamesGamblingGambling + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Gambling game?

Gambling + Mystery

Of 23 developers who shipped a Mystery Gambling 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.. 26 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $150. Revenue is up 1410% on the market; 26 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 1410% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Gambling + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $90 → $1.9k → $4.3k → $3.8k (still earning) → $932 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Gambling + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,287)
Top 5% $383k (exactly $382,609)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 38
Announced 26
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 1410% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

Gambling
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Mystery
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
Gambling; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Strategy, Board Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,339 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomanceStrong odds11 devs · median $5.7k · 9 announced
  2. + Dungeon CrawlerFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  4. + Online Co-OpFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Co-opFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 32 announced
  6. + FPSFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  7. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  8. + SandboxFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Female ProtagonistFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 10 announced
  10. + Multiple EndingsFair30 devs · median $1.8k · 42 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair96 devs · median $1.3k · 129 announced
  12. + Card BattlerFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 77 announced

All 71 pairs on the Gambling page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Judgment older $39.99 9,407 93% 282k $11M (exactly $11,285,578) RGG Studio
Sol Cesto $13.99 4,838 91% 145k $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale)
Card Shark older $19.99 2,965 90% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,110) Nerial
Caribbean Legend: Age of Pirates $19.99 638 70% 19k $383k (exactly $382,609) ReCon Team
All in Abyss: Judge the Fake $15.99 375 54% 11k $180k (exactly $179,888) ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground
Sunshine Shuffle older $9.99 156 76% 4.7k $47k (exactly $46,753) Strange Scaffold
Unlucky Mummy $4.49 281 84% 8.4k $38k (exactly $37,851) Karaclan
Dance of Cards older $9.99 93 88% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) GoodMorningMrFrog
Anomaly Mahjong $4.99 94 65% 2.8k $14k (exactly $14,072) YUTAMARO WORLD
Ba Bị $4.99 42 100% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) BaBị Electric
Butter Side Down $6.00 24 100% 720 $4.3k (exactly $4,320) Kalle MacDonald, Lachlan MacDonald
Desperate Gambling · EA $10.99 13 84% 390 $4.3k (exactly $4,286) Gaetha
Scary Shadow Spot - All In $7.99 16 93% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Daniele Doesn't Matter
Roulette Heist $6.99 18 94% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) DreamArk Lab

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