Games › Investigation › Investigation + Multiple Endings
Should I ship an Investigation Multiple Endings game?
Investigation + Multiple Endings
Of 315 developers who shipped an Investigation Multiple Endings 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.. 611 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×581 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 611 games are announced against 191 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,772) |
| Top 5% | $276k (exactly $275,862) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 315 |
| Released games | 825 |
| Announced | 611 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 down 50% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Multiple Endings
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Multiple Endings; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Puzzle
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 59,458 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 145 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 611 games are announced against 191 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M 
Heavy Rain 2020 · $16M 
The Forgotten City 2021 · $8.4M 
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
Bugsnax 2022 · $6.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Magical Girl Witch Trials | $29.99 | 29,869 96% | 896k | $27M (exactly $26,873,139) | Acacia, Re,AER | |
| | Heavy Rain | older | $19.99 | 26,503 85% | 795k | $16M (exactly $15,893,849) | Quantic Dream |
| | The Forgotten City | older | $24.99 | 11,159 96% | 335k | $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) | Modern Storyteller |
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | Bugsnax | older | $24.99 | 8,673 97% | 260k | $6.5M (exactly $6,502,148) | Young Horses |
 | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
 | Sherlock Holmes Chapter One | older | $44.99 | 4,189 77% | 126k | $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) | Frogwares |
 | Pentiment | older | $19.99 | 9,231 95% | 277k | $5.5M (exactly $5,535,831) | Obsidian Entertainment |
 | The Casting of Frank Stone™ | older | $29.99 | 5,580 62% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,020,326) | Supermassive Games |
 | Nobody Wants to Die | older | $24.99 | 5,818 83% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) | Critical Hit Games |
 | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
 | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
 | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | Subliminal | $9.99 | 3,535 74% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) | Accidental Studios | |
 | 再见断刀 | $9.99 | 2,563 92% | 77k | $768k (exactly $768,131) | 非侠游戏 | |
 | Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? | $14.99 | 1,513 95% | 45k | $680k (exactly $680,396) | Stately Snail | |
 | Trials of Innocence | $16.99 | 1,308 91% | 39k | $667k (exactly $666,688) | 猫龙游戏 | |
 | The Last Gas Station | $13.99 | 1,250 87% | 38k | $525k (exactly $524,625) | Alawar |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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