Do I ship it?

Games › Investigation › Investigation + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation Time Management game?

Investigation + Time Management

Of 53 developers who shipped an Investigation Time Management 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.. 108 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×905 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 108 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 108 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Investigation + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $1.6k → $959 → $3.1k → $719 → $959 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Investigation + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,211)
Top 5% $430k (exactly $429,811)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 115
Announced 108
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 35% on the market, supply 240% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Investigation, Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 320,647 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $540, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Investigation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Escape RoomFair61 devs · median $2.1k · 50 announced
  2. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $898 · 16 announced
  3. + TriviaLong shot8 devs · median $215 · 9 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Poor odds42 devs · median $39k · 70 announced
  5. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 27 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds64 devs · median $9.0k · 121 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds62 devs · median $9.0k · 101 announced
  8. + GothicPoor odds26 devs · median $8.1k · 54 announced
  9. + LovecraftianPoor odds56 devs · median $7.2k · 104 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds37 devs · median $6.6k · 50 announced
  11. + Card GamePoor odds14 devs · median $6.6k · 34 announced
  12. + SciencePoor odds21 devs · median $5.9k · 36 announced

All 134 pairs on the Investigation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

PEAK 2025 · $72M Content Warning 2024 · $17M LOCKDOWN Protocol 2025 · $5.0M Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring 2021 · $2.6M A Perfect Day 2022 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
LOCKDOWN Protocol $9.99 16,605 86% 498k $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) Mirage Creative Lab
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring older $13.99 6,310 95% 189k $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
A Perfect Day older $19.99 1,733 84% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,039,280) Perfect Day Studio
Accident older $14.99 1,462 76% 44k $657k (exactly $657,461) Duality Games, Spirit Games Studio
Backrooms: Lost Tape older $15.99 1,334 81% 40k $640k (exactly $639,920) Cortez Productions
Do No Harm $15.99 896 74% 27k $430k (exactly $429,811) Darts Games
Mindcop $14.99 413 94% 12k $186k (exactly $185,726) Andre Gareis
Repair this! older $6.99 786 88% 24k $165k (exactly $164,824) HGISoft
Carmen Sandiego $29.99 86 67% 2.6k $77k (exactly $77,374) Gameloft
Police Officer $11.99 125 65% 3.8k $45k (exactly $44,962) Turquoise Games
Decide 4 God $29.99 49 93% 1.5k $44k (exactly $44,085) Miracle Moon
Jeffrey Eggstein · EA $4.99 290 94% 8.7k $43k (exactly $43,413) Grabba Guild Games LLC
LockYourDoor $8.99 143 87% 4.3k $39k (exactly $38,567) Penguin's Autumn
Parking Tycoon 2: Business Simulator · EA $12.99 76 43% 2.3k $30k (exactly $29,617) Geekon

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.