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Should I ship a Science Investigation game?
Investigation + Science
Of 21 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.9k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×917 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $779 (exactly $779) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.9k (exactly $5,930) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $74,363) |
| Top 5% | $435k (exactly $435,464) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 76 |
| Announced | 36 |
| 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 55% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Science
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Hidden Object
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,734 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $780. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M 
Ghost Exorcism INC. 2021 · EA · $1.5M 
Botany Manor 2024 · $771k 
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition 2025 · $627k 
Nucleares 2023 · $504k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
| | Ghost Exorcism INC. | · EA older | $11.99 | 4,256 76% | 128k | $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) | StudioGoupil |
| | Botany Manor | older | $24.99 | 1,028 94% | 31k | $771k (exactly $770,692) | Balloon Studios |
| | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
| | Nucleares | older | $14.99 | 1,121 84% | 34k | $504k (exactly $504,114) | Iván Marcelo Pretti |
 | The Message from Deep Space | $9.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $435k (exactly $435,464) | Applesinmypants | |
 | Machinika: Museum | older | $7.99 | 1,184 91% | 36k | $284k (exactly $283,805) | Littlefield Studio |
 | Haven Moon | older | $11.99 | 646 77% | 19k | $232k (exactly $232,366) | Francois Roussel |
 | Machinika: Atlas | $11.99 | 574 76% | 17k | $206k (exactly $206,468) | Littlefield Studio | |
 | Tested on Humans: Escape Room | older | $9.99 | 434 87% | 13k | $130k (exactly $130,070) | mc2games |
 | Emergency Room Simulator | $24.99 | 154 43% | 4.6k | $115k (exactly $115,454) | Caipirinha Games | |
 | 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) | |
 | The House of Da Vinci VR | $24.99 | 126 93% | 3.8k | $94k (exactly $94,462) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Exographer | $19.99 | 124 94% | 3.7k | $74k (exactly $74,363) | SciFunGames | |
 | 60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room | $7.99 | 153 82% | 4.6k | $37k (exactly $36,674) | mc2games | |
 | 法医探案团之碎嘴小诗 | $3.99 | 135 77% | 4.1k | $16k (exactly $16,160) | 芒果互娱 | |
 | Galactum Meridian | · EA | $19.99 | 14 14% | 420 | $8.4k (exactly $8,396) | Hedra Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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