Do I ship it?

Games › Investigation › Investigation + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation Platformer?

Investigation + Platformer

Of 24 developers who shipped an Investigation Platformer 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.. 51 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $27M, ×57722 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 51 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 51 announced, ×5.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Investigation + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.5k → $4.9k → $3.0k → $419 (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Investigation + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,893)
Top 5% $27M (exactly $27,417,883)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 88
Announced 51
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 15% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Investigation, Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 315,611 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $27M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Investigation with a different second tag, 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

PEAK 2025 · $72M Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 2024 · $27M Hello Neighbor VR: Search and Rescue 2023 · $201k Looking For Fael 2026 · $99k Exographer 2024 · $74k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames
Hello Neighbor VR: Search and Rescue older $29.99 223 72% 6.7k $201k (exactly $200,633) Steel Wool Studios
Looking For Fael $19.99 165 98% 5.0k $99k (exactly $98,950) Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire,… (Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire, ARTE France)
Exographer $19.99 124 94% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) SciFunGames
Auridia $9.99 169 97% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,649) Reed Molbak, Norseboar Games
Supercow older $7.99 183 97% 5.5k $44k (exactly $43,865) Nevosoft
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows older $9.99 140 87% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,958) Monochrome Paris
The Crow's Eye older $9.99 127 72% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,062) 3D2 Entertainment
Tad the Lost Explorer older $19.99 38 73% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Gammera Nest
Memori · EA $14.99 22 95% 660 $9.9k (exactly $9,893) PracticalNPC
Trigger of Time $7.99 33 93% 990 $7.9k (exactly $7,910) Pantopie
An Aisling $11.99 13 92% 390 $4.7k (exactly $4,676) Club Cotton Games
Stick Scholars $4.99 30 90% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) JaDropping Games
The Fox Hare Disaster: Chapter One $3.99 33 96% 990 $4.0k (exactly $3,950) Dream Oni, Cosmic Boop, Valorware

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