Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Resource Management game?
Resource Management + Mystery
Of 104 developers who shipped a Mystery Resource 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.. 269 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×523 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 269 games are announced against 71 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) |
| Top 5% | $248k (exactly $248,462) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 104 |
| Released games | 179 |
| Announced | 269 |
| 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 up 60% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Resource Management
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Resource Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 11,178 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 269 games are announced against 71 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + WesternFair
- + SnowFair
- + JRPGFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + HorsesFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
Comparable games
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 2014 · $5.7M 
Gloomwood 2022 · EA · $4.5M 
Techtonica 2024 · $2.8M 
Little Goody Two Shoes 2023 · $1.3M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | older | $7.99 | 23,871 93% | 716k | $5.7M (exactly $5,721,879) | Scott Cawthon |
| | Gloomwood | · EA older | $19.99 | 7,495 95% | 225k | $4.5M (exactly $4,494,752) | Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Be… (Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, Thomas Porta) |
| | Techtonica | $29.99 | 3,076 64% | 92k | $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) | Fire Hose Games | |
| | Little Goody Two Shoes | older | $19.99 | 2,209 95% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,324,737) | AstralShift |
| | 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 |
 | Orb of Creation | $11.99 | 2,167 84% | 65k | $779k (exactly $779,470) | MarpleGames | |
 | Echoes of the Living | · EA | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | MoonGlint Studio |
 | Starsand | older | $19.99 | 806 69% | 24k | $483k (exactly $483,358) | Tunnel Vision Studio |
 | 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 | |
 | NO-SKIN | $6.99 | 1,227 95% | 37k | $257k (exactly $257,302) | NoEye-Soft | |
 | Backrooms Lost Runners | · EA | $13.99 | 592 75% | 18k | $248k (exactly $248,462) | ShimStudioGames |
 | Asbury Pines | · EA | $12.99 | 558 90% | 17k | $217k (exactly $217,453) | Chaystar Unlimited LLC |
 | Tostchu | $7.99 | 594 84% | 18k | $142k (exactly $142,382) | Ravenscape Collective | |
 | THE MUTE HOUSE | $12.99 | 302 79% | 9.1k | $118k (exactly $117,689) | December Blues Games | |
 | Terraformental | · EA | $5.99 | 365 97% | 11k | $66k (exactly $65,590) | Shady Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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