Games › Investigation › Investigation + Romance
Should I ship a Romance Investigation game?
Investigation + Romance
Of 62 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 101 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.0k, ×19 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×762 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 101 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $53,514) |
| Top 5% | $362k (exactly $362,139) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 177 |
| Announced | 101 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Romance
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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 Visual Novel, Adventure, Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Emotional
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 6,993 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 6 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 101 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring 2021 · $2.6M 
Love, Money, Rock'n'Roll 2022 · $1.1M 
Crushed In Time 2026 · $935k 
ANONYMOUS;CODE 2023 · $918k 
The Genesis Order 2024 · $837k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring | older | $13.99 | 6,310 95% | 189k | $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
| | Love, Money, Rock'n'Roll | older | $9.99 | 3,726 81% | 112k | $1.1M (exactly $1,116,682) | Soviet Games |
| | Crushed In Time | $24.99 | 1,247 90% | 37k | $935k (exactly $934,876) | Draw Me A Pixel | |
| | ANONYMOUS;CODE | older | $59.99 | 510 78% | 15k | $918k (exactly $917,847) | MAGES. Inc. |
| | The Genesis Order | older | $14.99 | 1,862 87% | 56k | $837k (exactly $837,341) | NLT Media |
 | 7 Days to End with You | older | $7.99 | 3,327 87% | 100k | $797k (exactly $797,482) | Lizardry |
 | 再见断刀 | $9.99 | 2,563 92% | 77k | $768k (exactly $768,131) | 非侠游戏 | |
 | The Shell Part II: Purgatorio | older | $24.99 | 588 95% | 18k | $441k (exactly $440,824) | Innocent Grey |
 | Foolish Mortals | $19.99 | 663 94% | 20k | $398k (exactly $397,601) | Inklingwood Studios | |
 | A Guidebook of Babel | older | $14.99 | 877 92% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | StarryStarry |
 | Best Served Cold | $17.99 | 671 87% | 20k | $362k (exactly $362,139) | Rogueside | |
 | Stellar Code | $24.98 | 448 97% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,731) | Fragaria | |
 | On Your Tail | $19.99 | 292 87% | 8.8k | $175k (exactly $175,112) | Memorable Games | |
 | Taboo University Book One | $14.99 | 332 79% | 10k | $149k (exactly $149,300) | ViNovella Games | |
 | HARDCODED | $16.99 | 282 90% | 8.5k | $144k (exactly $143,735) | Ghost Hug Games | |
 | Gensokyo：Presumption of Guilt~Pansies Before Dawn | $14.99 | 250 92% | 7.5k | $112k (exactly $112,425) | 戏壤游戏(Xirang Games) | |
 | Shale Hill Secrets | $14.99 | 245 80% | 7.4k | $110k (exactly $110,176) | Love-Joint |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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