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Should I ship an Investigation Party Game?
Party Game + Investigation
Of 20 developers who shipped an Investigation Party 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.. 60 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $14M, ×29791 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,486) |
| Top 5% | $14M (exactly $14,150,656) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 800% 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.
- Party Game
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Party Game, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Survival, Co-op
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Funny, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 84,961 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Party Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Board GameFair
- + RhythmFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + RoguelikePoor odds
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
Comparable games
MECCHA CHAMELEON 2026 · $14M 
Feign 2025 · $789k 
WE ARE SO DEAD 2026 · EA · $161k 
Deadly Trick 2026 · EA · $38k 
Hodgepodge Hunch 2023 · $21k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MECCHA CHAMELEON | $5.99 | 78,746 87% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,150,656) | lemorion_1224 | |
| | Feign | $4.99 | 5,270 91% | 158k | $789k (exactly $788,919) | Teneke Kafalar | |
| | WE ARE SO DEAD | · EA | $7.99 | 672 73% | 20k | $161k (exactly $161,078) | REAL PLAYERS |
| | Deadly Trick | · EA | $8.99 | 141 95% | 4.2k | $38k (exactly $38,028) | Finalblow Co. |
| | Hodgepodge Hunch | older | $4.99 | 140 93% | 4.2k | $21k (exactly $20,958) | uracon |
 | Mimicry! | $9.99 | 45 97% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | Wayward Skies Studio | |
 | Where is Billy? | $6.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | Triple Boris Inc., Dodo Tako | |
 | Stick Scholars | $4.99 | 30 90% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | JaDropping Games | |
 | Ritual Night | · EA | $4.99 | 27 85% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Outfox Games |
 | Murder Next Room | · EA older | $9.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Haven Software |
 | Project Corner | $9.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Triny Games | |
 | Wolftown | $9.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Portponky |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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