Games › Simulation › Simulation + Investigation
Should I ship an Investigation Simulation game?
Simulation + Investigation
Of 333 developers who shipped an Investigation Simulation 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.. 537 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×577 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 537 games are announced against 214 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $600 (exactly $600) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,888) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,671) |
| Top 5% | $362k (exactly $362,139) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 333 |
| Released games | 730 |
| Announced | 537 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Investigation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 65,464 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 144 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 537 games are announced against 214 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers 2022 · $23M 
Blue Prince 2025 · $16M 
Escape Simulator 2021 · $9.9M 
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Police Simulator: Patrol Officers | older | $39.99 | 18,880 75% | 566k | $23M (exactly $22,650,336) | Aesir Interactive |
| | Blue Prince | $29.99 | 17,498 85% | 525k | $16M (exactly $15,742,951) | Dogubomb | |
| | Escape Simulator | older | $19.99 | 16,496 94% | 495k | $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) | Pine Studio |
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
 | Unheard - Voices of Crime | older | $6.99 | 30,978 95% | 929k | $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) | NEXT Studios |
 | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
 | Cyber Manhunt | older | $9.99 | 14,520 92% | 436k | $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) | Aluba Van+ |
 | Killer Frequency | older | $24.99 | 5,131 93% | 154k | $3.8M (exactly $3,846,711) | Team17 |
 | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
 | Shift At Midnight | $9.99 | 10,147 88% | 304k | $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056) | Bun Muen | |
 | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
 | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
 | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | Parcel Simulator | $17.99 | 2,804 93% | 84k | $1.5M (exactly $1,513,319) | Dansan Digital | |
 | Desktop Explorer | $17.99 | 2,077 96% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,120,957) | Recurring Dream | |
 | Subliminal | $9.99 | 3,535 74% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) | Accidental Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.