Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Mystery

Of 28 developers who shipped a Mystery Score Attack 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.. 52 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 52 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 52 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $179 → $599 → $479 → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 5% $43k (exactly $42,857)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 77
Announced 52
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 140% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Score Attack; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Hidden Object, PvP, 2D Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 512 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $240, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $42k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Score Attack with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues 2021 · $250k Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad 2015 · $215k Myths are 100% True 2025 · $83k CODE Bunny 2024 · $43k We are Eva 2023 · $43k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues older $19.99 417 84% 13k $250k (exactly $250,075) Flux Games
Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad older $0.99 7,239 95% 217k $215k (exactly $214,998) marbenx
Myths are 100% True $14.99 184 100% 5.5k $83k (exactly $82,745) LeatherIceCream, ClayGod
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star
We are Eva older $14.99 95 96% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Totally Normal Creature
Evergarden older $9.99 120 87% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,964) Flippfly LLC
Overhaul older $11.99 80 91% 2.4k $29k (exactly $28,776) Bread Panda
Lateral Thinking Together · EA $5.99 85 43% 2.6k $15k (exactly $15,274) PushForward
Danghost older $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Umeshu Lovers
Red Chair · EA $9.99 14 21% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) RedChair Gameworks
Idyllic cats: Japan $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) GameRED indie
EmyLiveShow: BossRush $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Team Emily
Maze It Out $4.99 15 93% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Limit Test Games
XIII - A Final Game of Tarot With Death $1.99 34 91% 1.0k $2.0k (exactly $2,030) Indigo Dreams
In & Out $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) KASTEN
Godly Survivors · EA $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Rengi

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