Games › Investigation › Investigation + Time Travel
Should I ship a Time-Travel Investigation game?
Investigation + Time Travel
Of 33 developers who shipped a Time-Travel 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×1223 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 33 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
| Top 25% | $81k (exactly $80,668) |
| Top 5% | $581k (exactly $581,109) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 73 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 down 85% on the market, supply 15% fewer 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
- Time Travel
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 6,937 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
The Forgotten City 2021 · $8.4M 
Depersonalization 2024 · $3.6M 
Enigma of Fear 2024 · $2.7M 
The Sexy Brutale 2017 · $1.7M 
A Perfect Day 2022 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Forgotten City | older | $24.99 | 11,159 96% | 335k | $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) | Modern Storyteller |
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
| | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
| | The Sexy Brutale | older | $19.99 | 2,895 91% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,131) | Cavalier Game Studios, Tequila Works |
| | 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 |
 | Old Skies | $19.99 | 969 93% | 29k | $581k (exactly $581,109) | Wadjet Eye Games | |
 | A Guidebook of Babel | older | $14.99 | 877 92% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | StarryStarry |
 | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio | |
 | Eternal Threads | older | $19.99 | 543 87% | 16k | $326k (exactly $325,637) | Cosmonaut Studios |
 | Cybernetic Fault | $14.99 | 679 78% | 20k | $305k (exactly $305,346) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Radiolight | $14.99 | 414 90% | 12k | $186k (exactly $186,176) | Krystof Knesl | |
 | Chronoquartz | $9.99 | 510 98% | 15k | $153k (exactly $152,847) | Infinite Stairs | |
 | Yet Another Killing Game | $16.99 | 242 96% | 7.3k | $123k (exactly $123,347) | Soulseer Studios | |
 | The House of Da Vinci VR | $24.99 | 126 93% | 3.8k | $94k (exactly $94,462) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Joyville 2 | $12.99 | 207 72% | 6.2k | $81k (exactly $80,668) | KudPlay Games | |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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