Games › Match 3 › Match 3 + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Match 3?
Match 3 + Mystery
Only 8 developers shipped a Mystery Match 3 in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $390 against a market of $480. 12 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $390 (exactly $390) |
| Top 25% | $186k (exactly $185,726) |
| Top 5% | $204k (exactly $204,498) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 8 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 12 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Match 3
- Price point
- $12.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 7 games average 95% positive over 766 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 12 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Match 3 with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DemonsFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + ShooterFair
- + MagicFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + PvPLong shot
- + CombatLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 2025 · $204k 
Mindcop 2024 · $186k 
Spooky Bonus 2015 · $87k 
Cave Quest 2020 · $25k 
Cave Quest 2 2021 · $20k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 | $19.99 | 341 96% | 10k | $204k (exactly $204,498) | Strange Scaffold | |
| | Mindcop | $14.99 | 413 94% | 12k | $186k (exactly $185,726) | Andre Gareis | |
| | Spooky Bonus | older | $9.99 | 290 96% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | Grey Alien Games |
| | Cave Quest | older | $9.99 | 84 94% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | MD Studio |
| | Cave Quest 2 | older | $12.99 | 52 92% | 1.6k | $20k (exactly $20,264) | MD Studio |
 | Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa | older | $29.99 | 20 50% | 600 | $18k (exactly $17,994) | Art Co. Ltd, PQube |
 | Button Tales | older | $10.99 | 44 95% | 1.3k | $15k (exactly $14,507) | Anvate Games |
 | 1001 Jigsaw Legends of Mystery 1 | older | $14.99 | 24 70% | 720 | $11k (exactly $10,793) | Somer Games |
 | My Cute Pagangirl | older | $2.99 | 117 79% | 3.5k | $10k (exactly $10,495) | CUTE ANIME GIRLS |
 | Heart of Moon : The Mask of Seasons | older | $5.99 | 34 100% | 1.0k | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) | Unikgame |
 | Maze of Realities: Synergy of Worlds Collector's Edition | $8.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | Do Games Limited | |
 | Halloween Trouble 7: The Apprentice | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Ironcode Gaming | |
 | Cursed House 14 | $12.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $390 (exactly $390) | LGT SIA | |
 | Sexy Match Tale : Hansel and Gretel | $1.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $239 (exactly $239) | MISHRA GAMES, 纏月室 | |
 | Match 3 Game The World Is Going To | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | Taras Maykovych | |
 | Christmas Yarn 3: Tangled Traditions CE | $9.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Ironcode Gaming | |
 | Christmas Yarn 4: Blessing Star | $14.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Ironcode Gaming | |
 | Dwarf Saga | $14.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Ironcode Gaming |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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