Games › Investigation › Investigation + Perma Death
Should I ship an Investigation Perma Death game?
Investigation + Perma Death
Only 16 developers shipped an Investigation Perma Death game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, LOCKDOWN Protocol, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×4.3 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 $300; 1 in 20 cleared $4.9M, ×10477 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 26 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
| Top 5% | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 26 |
| 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 up 100% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
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
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Perma Death; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Roguelike, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 16,729 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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
LOCKDOWN Protocol 2025 · $5.0M 
Ghost Exile 2022 · EA · $1.7M 
Fears to Fathom - Norwood Hitchhike 2022 · $484k 
Long Live Caesar 2024 · $15k 
The Office Killer 2025 · $3.9k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | LOCKDOWN Protocol | $9.99 | 16,605 86% | 498k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) | Mirage Creative Lab | |
| | Ghost Exile | · EA older | $14.99 | 3,686 88% | 111k | $1.7M (exactly $1,657,594) | LostOneTeam |
| | Fears to Fathom - Norwood Hitchhike | older | $4.99 | 3,230 87% | 97k | $484k (exactly $483,531) | Rayll |
| | Long Live Caesar | $9.99 | 51 78% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs | |
| | The Office Killer | $9.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | IceMoon Games | |
 | ZonZon | older | $4.99 | 26 84% | 780 | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) | Paphnutius |
 | Rat Prison | older | $9.99 | 11 72% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Piece Of Voxel |
 | Martha | older | $3.99 | 27 62% | 810 | $3.2k (exactly $3,232) | Affordable Cat |
 | The Last Sight | older | $7.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | FallenDevs |
 | Collateral Dungeon | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Techosaurus Studios | |
 | Plaything | $5.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) | Bandaloop Games GmbH | |
 | The Overseer: Field Trials | $3.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) | mars | |
 | RedLantern | 赤提灯 | $4.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | KM Studios | |
 | Look At Me | $4.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) | Silly Tiger | |
 | AI Fantasy | $4.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Zueir AI | |
 | Primal Fear | $5.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $539 (exactly $539) | Connor White |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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