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Should I ship an Investigation Management game?
Management + Investigation
Of 43 developers who shipped an Investigation Management 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.. 122 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×684 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 122 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $330 (exactly $330) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,671) |
| Top 5% | $430k (exactly $429,811) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 43 |
| Released games | 93 |
| Announced | 122 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 35% on the market, supply 95% more 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.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Puzzle
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 11,538 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $330. 6 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Beholder: Conductor 2025 · $1.9M 
Parcel Simulator 2025 · $1.5M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M 
The Last Gas Station 2026 · $525k 
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War 2019 · $481k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
| | Parcel Simulator | $17.99 | 2,804 93% | 84k | $1.5M (exactly $1,513,319) | Dansan Digital | |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | The Last Gas Station | $13.99 | 1,250 87% | 38k | $525k (exactly $524,625) | Alawar | |
| | Sigma Theory: Global Cold War | older | $17.99 | 892 77% | 27k | $481k (exactly $481,412) | Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTi… (Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTigre) |
 | Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 | older | $14.99 | 1,036 68% | 31k | $466k (exactly $465,889) | Fictiorama Studios |
 | Do No Harm | $15.99 | 896 74% | 27k | $430k (exactly $429,811) | Darts Games | |
 | Counter Terrorist Agency | older | $19.99 | 479 43% | 14k | $287k (exactly $287,256) | Play2Chill |
 | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
 | Repair this! | older | $6.99 | 786 88% | 24k | $165k (exactly $164,824) | HGISoft |
 | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | Anoxia Station | $14.99 | 179 76% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Bonereaders | |
 | DRUDGE | · EA | $12.99 | 139 94% | 4.2k | $54k (exactly $54,168) | Writegg |
 | Airport Baggage Simulator | $17.99 | 100 92% | 3.0k | $54k (exactly $53,970) | Three River Games (3RG) | |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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