Games › Investigation › Investigation + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Investigation game?
Investigation + Steampunk
Only 13 developers shipped a Steampunk Investigation game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Syberia - Remastered, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $650k, ×1037 the market median. Revenue is up 735% on the market; 31 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,731) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,797) |
| Top 5% | $651k (exactly $651,383) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 33 |
| Announced | 31 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 735% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
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
- Steampunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Point & Click, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Comedy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,359 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 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
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
Syberia: The World Before 2022 · $4.9M 
Quern - Undying Thoughts 2016 · $2.9M 
Firmament 2023 · $950k 
Syberia - Remastered 2025 · $651k 
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy 2025 · $631k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Syberia: The World Before | older | $39.99 | 4,069 89% | 122k | $4.9M (exactly $4,881,579) | Microids Studio Paris |
| | Quern - Undying Thoughts | older | $24.99 | 3,812 90% | 114k | $2.9M (exactly $2,857,856) | Zadbox Entertainment |
| | Firmament | older | $34.99 | 905 72% | 27k | $950k (exactly $949,978) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
| | Syberia - Remastered | $29.99 | 724 70% | 22k | $651k (exactly $651,383) | Virtuallyz Gaming, Microids Studio Paris | |
| | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Haven Moon | older | $11.99 | 646 77% | 19k | $232k (exactly $232,366) | Francois Roussel |
 | Hazel Sky | older | $24.99 | 242 68% | 7.3k | $181k (exactly $181,427) | Coffee Addict Studio |
 | Skyland: Heart of the Mountain | older | $14.99 | 101 81% | 3.0k | $45k (exactly $45,420) | Cordelia Games |
 | Zof | older | $14.99 | 46 86% | 1.4k | $21k (exactly $20,686) | Hidden Realms |
 | Escape Machine City: Airborne | older | $4.99 | 138 89% | 4.1k | $21k (exactly $20,659) | Big Loop Studios |
 | MAELSTROM LEGACY: The Tesla Mystery | $10.99 | 36 69% | 1.1k | $12k (exactly $11,869) | Wistfulware | |
 | An Engineer and the Great Machine | $15.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.8k (exactly $4,797) | Gentlegear Games | |
 | Resonant Dusk | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Verdite Interactive | |
 | P.I.S. | $2.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $1.9k (exactly $1,884) | STEAM STREET | |
 | Little H.O.P.E. | $1.99 | 29 100% | 870 | $1.7k (exactly $1,731) | Forja Umbra | |
 | Hello Operator | $7.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $479 (exactly $479) | Leapfrog Studio LLC | |
 | Circus Saboteur | $14.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $450 (exactly $450) | No Sequels Cooperative | |
 | Radley Ravencroft's Spy Web Mystery | · EA | $4.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | sliphtrex |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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