Games › Investigation › Investigation + Incremental
Should I ship an Investigation Incremental game?
Investigation + Incremental
Of 38 developers who shipped an Investigation Incremental 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.. 42 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×288 the market median. Revenue is up 1320% on the market; 42 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $713 (exactly $713) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,138) |
| Top 5% | $137k (exactly $136,925) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 118 |
| Announced | 42 |
| 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 1320% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Incremental; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Puzzle, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 6,661 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different second tag, 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
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator 2025 · $2.0M 
JudgeSim 2024 · $289k 
I'm on Observation Duty 6 2023 · $235k 
Vtuber Hack 2026 · $137k 
The House of Da Vinci VR 2024 · $94k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
| | JudgeSim | older | $6.99 | 1,376 84% | 41k | $289k (exactly $288,547) | DelusionArt Studio |
| | I'm on Observation Duty 6 | older | $11.99 | 652 94% | 20k | $235k (exactly $234,524) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games |
| | Vtuber Hack | $54.99 | 83 74% | 2.5k | $137k (exactly $136,925) | ベルゼブブ | |
| | The House of Da Vinci VR | $24.99 | 126 93% | 3.8k | $94k (exactly $94,462) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | I'm on Observation Duty 8 | $11.99 | 237 95% | 7.1k | $85k (exactly $85,249) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games | |
 | Mosaic of The Pharaohs | $8.99 | 297 92% | 8.9k | $80k (exactly $80,101) | Mark Ffrench | |
 | 春泥 Soil of Rebirth | $9.99 | 216 73% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $64,735) | 午夜说书人 | |
 | GAME.exe | older | $3.99 | 415 83% | 12k | $50k (exactly $49,676) | Punx Studios |
 | Jeffrey Eggstein | · EA | $4.99 | 290 94% | 8.7k | $43k (exactly $43,413) | Grabba Guild Games LLC |
 | Desktop Detective | $4.99 | 144 88% | 4.3k | $22k (exactly $21,557) | Conradical Games | |
 | MAELSTROM LEGACY: The Tesla Mystery | $10.99 | 36 69% | 1.1k | $12k (exactly $11,869) | Wistfulware | |
 | Shattered Dimension | $4.99 | 41 85% | 1.2k | $6.1k (exactly $6,138) | Cotton Game |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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