Games › Management › Management + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Management game?
Management + Mystery
Of 71 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 214 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×684 the market median. Revenue is up 255% on the market; 214 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $657 (exactly $657) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,598) |
| Top 5% | $430k (exactly $429,811) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 71 |
| Released games | 159 |
| Announced | 214 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 255% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Strategy
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 10,834 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 214 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Graveyard Keeper 2018 · $24M 
Techtonica 2024 · $2.8M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M 
Mystwood Manor 2022 · $817k 
Surviving the Abyss 2024 · $626k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Graveyard Keeper | older | $19.99 | 39,547 86% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,716,336) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | Techtonica | $29.99 | 3,076 64% | 92k | $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) | Fire Hose Games | |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | Mystwood Manor | older | $19.99 | 1,362 85% | 41k | $817k (exactly $816,791) | Faerin Games |
| | Surviving the Abyss | $19.99 | 1,044 64% | 31k | $626k (exactly $626,087) | Rocket Flair Studios | |
 | The Last Gas Station | $13.99 | 1,250 87% | 38k | $525k (exactly $524,625) | Alawar | |
 | Do No Harm | $15.99 | 896 74% | 27k | $430k (exactly $429,811) | Darts Games | |
 | Still There | older | $14.99 | 770 87% | 23k | $346k (exactly $346,269) | GhostShark |
 | Fantasy Blacksmith | older | $9.99 | 1,019 63% | 31k | $305k (exactly $305,394) | Heaven Brotherhood |
 | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
 | Asbury Pines | · EA | $12.99 | 558 90% | 17k | $217k (exactly $217,453) | Chaystar Unlimited LLC |
 | The Boba Teashop | $4.99 | 1,041 95% | 31k | $156k (exactly $155,838) | Mike Ten | |
 | The Succession of Changing Kings | $9.99 | 487 86% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,954) | KwaKwaGames | |
 | Feed the Reactor | $6.99 | 658 82% | 20k | $138k (exactly $137,983) | Adam Travers | |
 | Retail Hell | $7.99 | 532 95% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,520) | LEAP Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.