Games › Social Deduction › Social Deduction + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Social Deduction game?
Social Deduction + Mystery
Of 29 developers who shipped a Mystery Social Deduction 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 51 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 40% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $600 (exactly $600) |
| Top 25% | $7.7k (exactly $7,670) |
| Top 5% | $539k (exactly $539,460) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Social Deduction
- effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Social Deduction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Strategy, Co-op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cartoon, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 7,737 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Social Deduction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + SimulationFair
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + Board GameLong shot
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + PvPPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
Comparable games
Town of Salem 2014 · $4.6M 
GNOSIA 2022 · $3.6M 
In Silence 2021 · $2.8M 
SpyParty 2018 · EA · $855k 
Feign 2025 · $789k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Town of Salem | older | $4.99 | 30,882 88% | 926k | $4.6M (exactly $4,623,035) | BlankMediaGames |
| | GNOSIA | older | $24.99 | 4,855 93% | 146k | $3.6M (exactly $3,639,794) | Petit Depotto |
| | In Silence | older | $9.99 | 9,450 75% | 284k | $2.8M (exactly $2,832,165) | Ravenhood Games |
| | SpyParty | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,140 77% | 34k | $855k (exactly $854,658) | Chris Hecker, John Cimino |
| | Feign | $4.99 | 5,270 91% | 158k | $789k (exactly $788,919) | Teneke Kafalar | |
 | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
 | The Ship: Remasted | older | $9.99 | 462 58% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Blazing Griffin |
 | Murderous Pursuits | older | $9.99 | 376 66% | 11k | $113k (exactly $112,687) | Blazing Griffin |
 | Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! | $17.99 | 120 81% | 3.6k | $65k (exactly $64,764) | Shadow Glove | |
 | WISE GUYS | · EA | $8.99 | 194 90% | 5.8k | $52k (exactly $52,322) | StonieDude |
 | Deadly Trick | · EA | $8.99 | 141 95% | 4.2k | $38k (exactly $38,028) | Finalblow Co. |
 | 3DMurderMystery TheAshenYou | $18.99 | 38 73% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,649) | ぐだぐだぶとん | |
 | diffiCULT | · EA | $4.99 | 52 94% | 1.6k | $7.8k (exactly $7,784) | Ouz Games |
 | Dungeon Tells | $7.99 | 32 75% | 960 | $7.7k (exactly $7,670) | Ace Benoff | |
 | PENTALOOP -ペンタループ- | $3.99 | 55 72% | 1.7k | $6.6k (exactly $6,584) | イバラユーギ×ひろゆ～プロジェクト | |
 | DEATHMARK | · EA | $4.99 | 35 91% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Wired Creations Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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