Games › Investigation › Investigation + Roguelite
Should I ship an Investigation Roguelite?
Investigation + Roguelite
Of 24 developers who shipped an Investigation Roguelite 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.. 58 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×401 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 58 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 5% | $190k (exactly $190,310) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 58 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Roguelite
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 18,448 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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
Blue Prince 2025 · $16M 
沉默的蟋蟀 2023 · $508k 
Feed The Pit 2026 · $190k 
Dead Town Tales 2023 · $150k 
The Testing Chamber 2022 · $104k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Blue Prince | $29.99 | 17,498 85% | 525k | $16M (exactly $15,742,951) | Dogubomb | |
| | 沉默的蟋蟀 | older | $14.99 | 1,130 88% | 34k | $508k (exactly $508,161) | 蓬莱飞鱼工作室 |
| | Feed The Pit | $9.99 | 635 97% | 19k | $190k (exactly $190,310) | Curious Fox Sox | |
| | Dead Town Tales | older | $11.99 | 417 82% | 13k | $150k (exactly $149,995) | 拾遗工作室 |
| | The Testing Chamber | older | $4.99 | 697 96% | 21k | $104k (exactly $104,341) | Randumb Studios |
 | Bounty Trail | $6.99 | 84 52% | 2.5k | $18k (exactly $17,615) | September Games | |
 | The Detective Reaper Invites | older | $9.99 | 58 37% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | SHIZU KANO UMI |
 | Long Live Caesar | $9.99 | 51 78% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs | |
 | BeatRider | $11.99 | 32 53% | 960 | $12k (exactly $11,510) | 无限电玩, Combo X Camp | |
 | MistsBook | older | $11.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $11k (exactly $11,151) | Dehist Games |
 | Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance | $9.99 | 29 100% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | BYYONI Entertainment | |
 | Atrium Mortis | $7.99 | 36 100% | 1.1k | $8.6k (exactly $8,629) | Hectic | |
 | Victor's Test Night: REVES | $7.99 | 35 97% | 1.1k | $8.4k (exactly $8,390) | 727 Not Hound | |
 | Dungeon Tells | $7.99 | 32 75% | 960 | $7.7k (exactly $7,670) | Ace Benoff | |
 | InfinityMine | · EA | $8.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $4.3k (exactly $4,315) | HayaseWorks |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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