Games › Investigation › Investigation + Magic
Should I ship a Magic Investigation game?
Investigation + Magic
Of 45 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 123 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×360 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 123 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,888) |
| Top 25% | $6.0k (exactly $5,990) |
| Top 5% | $171k (exactly $170,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 199 |
| Announced | 123 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than 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
- Magic
- 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, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,271 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 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
Wytchwood 2021 · $2.4M 
1666: Amsterdam 2026 · EA · $705k 
Ghost Town 2025 · $424k 
The Inquisitor 2024 · $332k 
Logiart Grimoire 2024 · $201k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wytchwood | older | $19.99 | 4,030 92% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,416,791) | Alientrap |
| | 1666: Amsterdam | · EA | $29.99 | 784 63% | 24k | $705k (exactly $705,365) | Panache Digital Games |
| | Ghost Town | $24.99 | 565 95% | 17k | $424k (exactly $423,580) | Fireproof Games | |
| | The Inquisitor | older | $39.99 | 277 66% | 8.3k | $332k (exactly $332,317) | The Dust S.A. |
| | Logiart Grimoire | older | $19.99 | 336 94% | 10k | $201k (exactly $201,499) | Jupiter Corporation |
 | The End of the Sun | $24.99 | 228 97% | 6.8k | $171k (exactly $170,932) | The End of the Sun Forge | |
 | Haunted House Renovator | $19.99 | 197 45% | 5.9k | $118k (exactly $118,141) | Image Power S.A. | |
 | CLeM | older | $15.99 | 239 92% | 7.2k | $115k (exactly $114,648) | Mango Protocol |
 | Infinite Lives | $14.99 | 217 76% | 6.5k | $98k (exactly $97,585) | MDickie | |
 | Time Lock VR 2 | older | $12.99 | 170 88% | 5.1k | $66k (exactly $66,249) | WR-VRG |
 | Bookbinding – Dark Cozy Sim | $12.99 | 138 68% | 4.1k | $54k (exactly $53,779) | NDApolis | |
 | Occulto | · EA | $14.99 | 23 73% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | Sirio Art Games |
 | Mad Experiments: Escape Room - Sanctuary | $6.99 | 47 65% | 1.4k | $9.9k (exactly $9,856) | PlayTogether Studio | |
 | Cozy Holes | $9.99 | 26 69% | 780 | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) | FlashPoint Games, LLC | |
 | Cloud Cats` Land | $4.99 | 46 97% | 1.4k | $6.9k (exactly $6,886) | Gryphon`s Nest |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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