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Should I ship an Investigation JRPG?
JRPG + Investigation
Only 16 developers shipped an Investigation JRPG 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, RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×19 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×2496 the market median. Revenue is up 305% on the market; 27 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.0k (exactly $1,973) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $11,870) |
| Top 25% | $39k (exactly $38,661) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 up 305% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- JRPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- JRPG, Investigation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2.5D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,852 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
JRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + NinjaFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ManagementFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
Comparable games
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army 2025 · $1.6M 
The Test 2020 · $1.2M 
Spirit Hunter: Death Mark 2019 · $516k 
Lost Dimension 2017 · $166k 
Life With a College Girl 2023 · $111k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army | $49.99 | 1,045 93% | 31k | $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) | ATLUS | |
| | The Test | older | $1.99 | 19,599 96% | 588k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,060) | Randumb Studios |
| | Spirit Hunter: Death Mark | older | $49.99 | 344 86% | 10k | $516k (exactly $515,897) | EXPERIENCE |
| | Lost Dimension | older | $24.99 | 221 72% | 6.6k | $166k (exactly $165,684) | FURYU Corporation |
| | Life With a College Girl | older | $10.99 | 338 86% | 10k | $111k (exactly $111,439) | Boru |
 | The Testing Chamber | older | $4.99 | 697 96% | 21k | $104k (exactly $104,341) | Randumb Studios |
 | 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) | |
 | Suicide Countdown: 7 Days | older | $1.99 | 989 79% | 30k | $59k (exactly $59,043) | 致意 |
 | Island of Penance | older | $12.99 | 148 45% | 4.4k | $58k (exactly $57,676) | ONEONE1 |
 | Neon Blood | $17.99 | 73 60% | 2.2k | $39k (exactly $39,398) | ChaoticBrain Studios | |
 | Elton Manor: Requiem of the Cursed Roses | $9.99 | 129 93% | 3.9k | $39k (exactly $38,661) | 阿魯, Playmeow | |
 | Naked Interrogation Simulator | $4.99 | 180 71% | 5.4k | $27k (exactly $26,946) | オッパイーツ | |
 | Makai Agito | $9.99 | 72 94% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee | |
 | Dig Night | $3.99 | 110 99% | 3.3k | $13k (exactly $13,167) | INUSHIT | |
 | New Eromancer | $11.99 | 33 48% | 990 | $12k (exactly $11,870) | OneCoin | |
 | Deluge | $9.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $9.3k (exactly $9,291) | Riggy2k3 | |
 | Work Life Balance | $8.99 | 33 96% | 990 | $8.9k (exactly $8,900) | LandUni Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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