Games › Logic › Logic + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Logic game?
Logic + Mystery
Of 409 developers who shipped a Mystery Logic 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.. 568 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×311 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 568 games are announced against 249 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) |
| Top 25% | $7.7k (exactly $7,670) |
| Top 5% | $148k (exactly $147,951) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 409 |
| Released games | 1,094 |
| Announced | 568 |
| 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 185% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Logic; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Investigation
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 53,697 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 202 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 568 games are announced against 249 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Logic with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LovecraftianFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + NoirFair
- + HackingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DragonsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Bullet TimeFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + TransportationFair
- + Automobile SimFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M 
Judgment 2022 · $11M 
The Talos Principle 2 2023 · $11M 
Murders on the Yangtze River 2024 · $7.1M 
The Roottrees are Dead 2025 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Magical Girl Witch Trials | $29.99 | 29,869 96% | 896k | $27M (exactly $26,873,139) | Acacia, Re,AER | |
| | Judgment | older | $39.99 | 9,407 93% | 282k | $11M (exactly $11,285,578) | RGG Studio |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
| | Murders on the Yangtze River | older | $14.99 | 15,833 96% | 475k | $7.1M (exactly $7,120,100) | OMEGAMES STUDIO |
| | The Roottrees are Dead | $19.99 | 9,700 96% | 291k | $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) | Evil Trout Inc. | |
 | Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy | $49.99 | 3,558 92% | 107k | $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) | Asobo Studio | |
 | Agent A: A puzzle in disguise | older | $19.99 | 5,901 95% | 177k | $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) | Yak & Co |
 | Blacksad: Under the Skin | older | $19.99 | 5,356 83% | 161k | $3.2M (exactly $3,211,993) | Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive |
 | The Pedestrian | older | $19.99 | 5,173 96% | 155k | $3.1M (exactly $3,102,248) | Skookum Arts |
 | Riven | older | $34.99 | 2,764 92% | 83k | $2.9M (exactly $2,901,371) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
 | The Incident at Galley House | $19.99 | 4,087 94% | 123k | $2.5M (exactly $2,450,974) | William Rous, Evil Trout Inc. | |
 | Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest | $24.99 | 922 89% | 28k | $691k (exactly $691,223) | Team Tetrapod | |
 | Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? | $14.99 | 1,513 95% | 45k | $680k (exactly $680,396) | Stately Snail | |
 | Trials of Innocence | $16.99 | 1,308 91% | 39k | $667k (exactly $666,688) | 猫龙游戏 | |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise | $15.99 | 1,054 78% | 32k | $506k (exactly $505,604) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division | $14.99 | 850 97% | 26k | $382k (exactly $382,245) | Thomas Hsu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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