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Should I ship a Nature Investigation game?
Investigation + Nature
Of 52 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 103 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×413 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 103 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 5% | $196k (exactly $196,000) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 52 |
| Released games | 148 |
| Announced | 103 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Nature
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Puzzle
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 34,552 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Big Walk 2026 · $19M 
Botany Manor 2024 · $771k 
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy 2025 · $631k 
沉默的蟋蟀 2023 · $508k 
Kona II: Brume 2023 · $390k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Big Walk | $19.99 | 32,470 95% | 974k | $19M (exactly $19,472,259) | House House | |
| | Botany Manor | older | $24.99 | 1,028 94% | 31k | $771k (exactly $770,692) | Balloon Studios |
| | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
| | 沉默的蟋蟀 | older | $14.99 | 1,130 88% | 34k | $508k (exactly $508,161) | 蓬莱飞鱼工作室 |
| | Kona II: Brume | older | $29.99 | 433 80% | 13k | $390k (exactly $389,570) | Parabole |
 | The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure | $13.99 | 467 97% | 14k | $196k (exactly $196,000) | The Wonder Room | |
 | The Good Life | older | $29.99 | 198 74% | 5.9k | $178k (exactly $178,141) | White Owls Inc. |
 | Once Alive | $11.99 | 415 82% | 12k | $149k (exactly $149,276) | Cem Boray Yıldırım | |
 | Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 | $7.99 | 533 98% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,760) | NovaSoft Interactive Ltd. | |
 | The Moon Hell | older | $10.99 | 128 80% | 3.8k | $42k (exactly $42,202) | A.M. Team |
 | The Abbess Garden | $9.99 | 41 87% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $12,288) | MD Studio | |
 | Greenhouse | $9.99 | 33 100% | 990 | $9.9k (exactly $9,890) | Ekull | |
 | Retro Relics | $9.99 | 30 90% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | HistoryXPlorer | |
 | Primeval Genesis | · EA | $14.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | After Hours Digital |
 | Castaway Hand | $9.99 | 22 36% | 660 | $6.6k (exactly $6,593) | BAOCHUAN |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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