Do I ship it?

GamesInvestigationInvestigation + Mythology

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mythological Investigation game?

Investigation + Mythology

Of 22 developers who shipped a Mythological 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.. 59 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 $4.7k, ×7.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×450 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 59 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 59 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Investigation + Mythology
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $239 → $34k → $22k → $2.7k → $898 (still earning) → $6.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Investigation + Mythology: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $4.7k (exactly $4,725)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $30,202)
Top 5% $283k (exactly $282,861)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 69
Announced 59
Effort 5 / 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 down 80% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Mythology
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Investigation; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 5,276 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $4.7k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Escape RoomFair61 devs · median $2.1k · 50 announced
  2. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $898 · 16 announced
  3. + TriviaLong shot8 devs · median $215 · 9 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Poor odds42 devs · median $39k · 70 announced
  5. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 27 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds64 devs · median $9.0k · 121 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds62 devs · median $9.0k · 101 announced
  8. + GothicPoor odds26 devs · median $8.1k · 54 announced
  9. + LovecraftianPoor odds56 devs · median $7.2k · 104 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds37 devs · median $6.6k · 50 announced
  11. + Card GamePoor odds14 devs · median $6.6k · 34 announced
  12. + SciencePoor odds21 devs · median $5.9k · 36 announced

All 134 pairs on the Investigation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Depersonalization older $19.99 6,041 92% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) MeowNature
The Séance of Blake Manor $19.99 3,683 95% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,208,695) Spooky Doorway
PAGUI打鬼 older $19.99 1,189 82% 36k $713k (exactly $713,043) padendon
Cats and the Other Lives older $19.99 1,089 91% 33k $653k (exactly $653,073) Cultic Games
Mindlock - The Apartment $14.99 629 95% 19k $283k (exactly $282,861) Roof Cut Media
The End of the Sun $24.99 228 97% 6.8k $171k (exactly $170,932) The End of the Sun Forge
Mosaic of The Pharaohs $8.99 297 92% 8.9k $80k (exactly $80,101) Mark Ffrench
Fallow older $19.99 129 96% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Ada Rook
NOSTALGIC TRAIN older $11.99 187 76% 5.6k $67k (exactly $67,264) Tatamibeya 畳部屋
Chronicle of Innsmouth: Mountains of Madness older $19.99 106 70% 3.2k $64k (exactly $63,568) PsychoDev, https://www.atomichorde.com/
The Allure Of Wanton Cove $9.99 114 78% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Ktulhu Solutions, Aftermath
Ghost Buster:Village $7.99 126 77% 3.8k $30k (exactly $30,202) ZV GAMES
Makai Agito $9.99 72 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee
Scholar Adventure: Mystery of Silence $7.99 82 92% 2.5k $20k (exactly $19,655) Making Enemies, Ayose Trujillo
小先生 Little ShiFu $6.24 32 34% 960 $6.0k (exactly $5,990) Liminal Factory
LOGBOOK: Beneath the Storm $13.99 13 38% 390 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) Pink Iceberg Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.