Do I ship it?

GamesQuick-Time EventsQuick-Time Events + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Quick-Time Events game?

Quick-Time Events + Mystery

Of 42 developers who shipped a Mystery Quick-Time Events 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $51k, ×109 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 61 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $2.2k → $449 → $1.3k → $598 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $8.0k (exactly $7,974)
Top 5% $52k (exactly $51,950)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 95
Announced 61
Effort 4 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 65% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
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 82% positive over 4,971 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $51k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Heavy Rain older $19.99 26,503 85% 795k $16M (exactly $15,893,849) Quantic Dream
The Wolf Among Us older $14.99 32,494 97% 975k $15M (exactly $14,612,552) Telltale
Until Dawn™ $59.99 3,564 82% 107k $6.4M (exactly $6,414,131) Ballistic Moon
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me older $39.99 3,778 56% 113k $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) Supermassive Games
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope older $19.99 7,202 74% 216k $4.3M (exactly $4,319,039) Supermassive Games
Batman: The Enemy Within - The Telltale Series older $14.99 8,877 92% 266k $4.0M (exactly $3,991,987) Telltale
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered older $9.99 6,743 79% 202k $2.0M (exactly $2,020,877) Quantic Dream, Aspyr Media (remastered… (Quantic Dream, Aspyr Media (remastered version))
Card Shark older $19.99 2,965 90% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,110) Nerial
D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die -Season One- older $14.99 1,724 80% 52k $775k (exactly $775,283) Access Games
The Bunker older $14.99 1,644 69% 49k $739k (exactly $739,307) Splendy Interactive, Wales Interactive
The Occultist $29.99 244 74% 7.3k $220k (exactly $219,527) DALOAR
KunKunNest $3.99 434 95% 13k $52k (exactly $51,950) JNTM, KunKunRoom, 鸡你太美
蜀汉再临:源起 Restart ShuHan Dynasty:Origin $3.99 357 76% 11k $43k (exactly $42,733) 浙江海蕊盈信网络科技有限公司
The Supper: New Blood $9.99 120 88% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,964) White Blanket Games
Ragnar $14.99 61 83% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Fimbulwinter Games
Lost and found - What if I come and find it $15.99 36 88% 1.1k $17k (exactly $17,269) Gadir Team
Shifting To The Backrooms $8.99 51 86% 1.5k $14k (exactly $13,755) Oopsome Games
Sex Shop Simulator: Sinful Girls $7.99 57 43% 1.7k $14k (exactly $13,663) Bits, Bytes & Sins
Mad Experiments: Escape Room - Sanctuary $6.99 47 65% 1.4k $9.9k (exactly $9,856) PlayTogether Studio

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