Games › Investigation › Investigation + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Investigation game?
Investigation + Lovecraftian
Of 56 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 104 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 $7.2k, ×15 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1319 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 104 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 25% | $60k (exactly $59,597) |
| Top 5% | $627k (exactly $626,749) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 150 |
| Announced | 104 |
| 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 up 170% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Lovecraftian
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 10,963 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 27 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
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
Demonologist 2023 · $11M 
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
The Sinking City Remastered 2021 · $6.4M 
The Casting of Frank Stone™ 2024 · $5.0M 
Depersonalization 2024 · $3.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | The Sinking City Remastered | older | $39.99 | 5,361 75% | 161k | $6.4M (exactly $6,431,592) | Frogwares |
| | The Casting of Frank Stone™ | older | $29.99 | 5,580 62% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,020,326) | Supermassive Games |
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
 | Sherlock Holmes The Awakened | older | $39.99 | 2,612 81% | 78k | $3.1M (exactly $3,133,616) | Frogwares |
 | The Room VR: A Dark Matter | older | $24.99 | 3,866 97% | 116k | $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) | Fireproof Games |
 | Call of the Sea | older | $19.99 | 4,535 87% | 136k | $2.7M (exactly $2,719,640) | Out of the Blue Games |
 | Lust from Beyond | older | $19.99 | 4,057 81% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,432,983) | Movie Games Lunarium |
 | Shadows Over Loathing | older | $22.99 | 3,120 95% | 94k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) | Asymmetric |
 | The Sinking City 2 | $49.99 | 1,410 83% | 42k | $2.1M (exactly $2,114,577) | Frogwares | |
 | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Whisper Mountain Outbreak | · EA | $7.99 | 2,421 84% | 73k | $580k (exactly $580,314) | Toge Productions |
 | Do No Harm | $15.99 | 896 74% | 27k | $430k (exactly $429,811) | Darts Games | |
 | ASYLUM | $24.99 | 421 84% | 13k | $316k (exactly $315,624) | Senscape | |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | The Dark Rites of Arkham | $14.99 | 655 97% | 20k | $295k (exactly $294,554) | Postmodern Adventures | |
 | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
 | Call of the Elder Gods | $24.99 | 313 89% | 9.4k | $235k (exactly $234,656) | Out of the Blue Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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