Games › Stealth › Stealth + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Stealth game?
Stealth + Noir
Of 32 developers who shipped a Noir Stealth 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.. 75 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×6.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×3993 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 75 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $24,588) |
| Top 5% | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 95 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Stealth; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 18,247 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Stealth with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + WargamePoor odds
- + DinosaursPoor odds
- + Gun CustomizationPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + Cold WarPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + WarPoor odds
Comparable games
Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M 
Murdered: Soul Suspect 2014 · $7.2M 
INDIKA 2024 · $5.3M 
Gunpoint 2013 · $3.1M 
Fallen Aces 2024 · EA · $3.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Shadows of Doubt | $24.99 | 14,646 82% | 439k | $11M (exactly $10,980,106) | ColePowered Games | |
| | Murdered: Soul Suspect | older | $19.99 | 12,051 87% | 362k | $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) | Airtight Games |
| | INDIKA | older | $24.99 | 7,034 89% | 211k | $5.3M (exactly $5,273,390) | Odd Meter |
| | Gunpoint | older | $9.99 | 10,276 97% | 308k | $3.1M (exactly $3,079,717) | Suspicious Developments |
| | Fallen Aces | · EA older | $14.99 | 6,608 96% | 198k | $3.0M (exactly $2,971,618) | Trey Powell, Jason Bond |
 | The Bureau: XCOM Declassified | older | $19.99 | 4,857 67% | 146k | $2.9M (exactly $2,912,743) | 2K Marin |
 | Psycho Patrol R | · EA | $39.99 | 2,090 88% | 63k | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) | Consumer Softproducts |
 | Intravenous | older | $19.99 | 2,872 91% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,722,338) | Explosive Squat Games |
 | DEADBOLT | older | $9.99 | 4,852 96% | 146k | $1.5M (exactly $1,454,144) | Hopoo Games |
 | Endoparasitic | older | $9.99 | 2,928 93% | 88k | $878k (exactly $877,522) | Miziziziz |
 | LumineNight | $24.99 | 515 87% | 15k | $386k (exactly $386,096) | Spickasoft | |
 | PROHIBEAST | $34.99 | 121 57% | 3.6k | $127k (exactly $127,014) | SUPER AC | |
 | Midnight Murder Club | $9.99 | 304 71% | 9.1k | $91k (exactly $91,109) | Velan Studios | |
 | Cyberpunk SFX | $9.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | BrokenLore: DON’T LIE | $15.99 | 74 86% | 2.2k | $35k (exactly $35,498) | Serafini Productions | |
 | Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire | $19.99 | 41 70% | 1.2k | $25k (exactly $24,588) | Schell Games | |
 | Ghost Frequency | $4.99 | 133 66% | 4.0k | $20k (exactly $19,910) | PIT GAMES | |
 | Hank: Drowning On Dry Land | $2.99 | 140 95% | 4.2k | $13k (exactly $12,558) | My Next Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.