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Should I ship a Mystery Shop Keeper?
Shop Keeper + Mystery
Of 24 developers who shipped a Mystery Shop Keeper 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×570 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 66 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $987 (exactly $987) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,155) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,671) |
| Top 5% | $271k (exactly $270,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 66 |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 2200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Shop Keeper; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Inventory Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Cozy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,768 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $990. 66 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Shop Keeper with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + HorrorFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + ModernFair
- + StrategyFair
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + NaturePoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
The Last Gas Station 2026 · $525k 
Photomaly 2026 · $271k 
Retail Hell 2026 · $128k 
Tidy Up Together 2026 · $40k 
Arcadia Cafe 2026 · $25k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Last Gas Station | $13.99 | 1,250 87% | 38k | $525k (exactly $524,625) | Alawar | |
| | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
| | Retail Hell | $7.99 | 532 95% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,520) | LEAP Game Studios | |
| | Tidy Up Together | $5.99 | 221 80% | 6.6k | $40k (exactly $39,714) | Malum Games | |
| | Arcadia Cafe | $4.99 | 168 92% | 5.0k | $25k (exactly $25,150) | Judas Brothers, Rassl.me | |
 | Animaly Bar: NO HUMANITY! | $4.99 | 98 90% | 2.9k | $15k (exactly $14,671) | Domnaier | |
 | Sex Shop Simulator: Sinful Girls | $7.99 | 57 43% | 1.7k | $14k (exactly $13,663) | Bits, Bytes & Sins | |
 | I Fell for Her | $3.99 | 70 85% | 2.1k | $8.4k (exactly $8,379) | arydk | |
 | Last Shift: Gas Station | $3.99 | 46 80% | 1.4k | $5.5k (exactly $5,506) | Iron Cat Forge | |
 | The Last Lodge | $4.99 | 34 100% | 1.0k | $5.1k (exactly $5,090) | Kusppy Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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