Games › Investigation › Investigation + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Investigation game?
Investigation + Thriller
Of 268 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 482 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 $2.3k, ×4.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×472 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 482 games are announced against 152 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,386) |
| Top 5% | $224k (exactly $224,288) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 268 |
| Released games | 662 |
| Announced | 482 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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 Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 17,639 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 136 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 482 games are announced against 152 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
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M 
L.A. Noire 2011 · $19M 
Heavy Rain 2020 · $16M 
Demonologist 2023 · $11M 
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter 2016 · $11M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Phasmophobia | · EA older | $19.99 | 684,009 94% | 21M | $410M (exactly $410,200,197) | Kinetic Games |
| | L.A. Noire | older | $19.99 | 31,099 85% | 933k | $19M (exactly $18,650,070) | Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds |
| | Heavy Rain | older | $19.99 | 26,503 85% | 795k | $16M (exactly $15,893,849) | Quantic Dream |
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
| | Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter | older | $29.99 | 12,076 80% | 362k | $11M (exactly $10,864,777) | Frogwares |
 | Unheard - Voices of Crime | older | $6.99 | 30,978 95% | 929k | $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) | NEXT Studios |
 | The Sinking City Remastered | older | $39.99 | 5,361 75% | 161k | $6.4M (exactly $6,431,592) | Frogwares |
 | Sherlock Holmes Chapter One | older | $44.99 | 4,189 77% | 126k | $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) | Frogwares |
 | The Case of the Golden Idol | older | $17.99 | 9,794 97% | 294k | $5.3M (exactly $5,285,822) | Color Gray Games |
 | The Casting of Frank Stone™ | older | $29.99 | 5,580 62% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,020,326) | Supermassive Games |
 | The Drifter | $19.99 | 4,735 97% | 142k | $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) | Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd | |
 | Subliminal | $9.99 | 3,535 74% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) | Accidental Studios | |
 | Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer | $19.99 | 1,244 95% | 37k | $746k (exactly $746,027) | Clifftop Games | |
 | Dimhaven - The Lost Source | $25.99 | 945 87% | 28k | $737k (exactly $736,816) | Zadbox Entertainment | |
 | Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest | $24.99 | 922 89% | 28k | $691k (exactly $691,223) | Team Tetrapod | |
 | s.p.l.i.t | $2.99 | 3,862 92% | 116k | $346k (exactly $346,421) | Mike Klubnika | |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | Clock Tower: Rewind | $19.99 | 460 88% | 14k | $276k (exactly $275,862) | WayForward, Limited Run Games | |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
 | Dread Flats | $5.99 | 1,453 83% | 44k | $261k (exactly $261,104) | Ghostcase |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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