Games › Investigation › Investigation + Space
Should I ship a Space Investigation game?
Investigation + Space
Of 32 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 70 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $830; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4504 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 70 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $822 (exactly $822) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $26k (exactly $26,387) |
| Top 5% | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 99 |
| Announced | 70 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.10 |
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 up 40% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Space
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Puzzle
- Price point
- $8.10 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.10.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 30,000 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $830. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
LOCKDOWN Protocol 2025 · $5.0M 
Species: Unknown 2025 · EA · $2.8M 
The Message from Deep Space 2026 · $435k 
Stellar Code 2025 · $336k 
Cybernetic Fault 2025 · $305k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | LOCKDOWN Protocol | $9.99 | 16,605 86% | 498k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) | Mirage Creative Lab | |
| | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
| | The Message from Deep Space | $9.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $435k (exactly $435,464) | Applesinmypants | |
| | Stellar Code | $24.98 | 448 97% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,731) | Fragaria | |
| | Cybernetic Fault | $14.99 | 679 78% | 20k | $305k (exactly $305,346) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Machinika: Atlas | $11.99 | 574 76% | 17k | $206k (exactly $206,468) | Littlefield Studio | |
 | Between Horizons – A Sci-Fi Detective Adventure | older | $15.99 | 395 88% | 12k | $189k (exactly $189,482) | DigiTales Interactive |
 | Digger: Galactic Treasures | $4.99 | 711 87% | 21k | $106k (exactly $106,437) | RainStyle games | |
 | Prominence | older | $19.99 | 126 79% | 3.8k | $76k (exactly $75,562) | Digital Media Workshop |
 | Odysseus Kosmos and his Robot Quest (Complete Season) | older | $14.99 | 121 80% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | Pavel Kostin |
 | Cognition Method | $19.99 | 44 77% | 1.3k | $26k (exactly $26,387) | Team Cognition | |
 | MALPRAXIS™ | $8.99 | 35 48% | 1.1k | $9.4k (exactly $9,440) | Sunscorched Studios | |
 | 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.
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.