Do I ship it?

GamesSocial DeductionSocial Deduction + RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an RPG Social Deduction game?

Social Deduction + RPG

Only 15 developers shipped an RPG Social Deduction game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Feign, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×527 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 25 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Social Deduction + RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $2.2k → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Social Deduction + RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $629 (exactly $629)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,922)
Top 5% $789k (exactly $788,919)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 42
Announced 25
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 25% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 33%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Social Deduction
effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base
RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Social Deduction, RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Co-op, Online Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, Cartoon
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,931 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Social Deduction with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SurvivalFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  2. + PsychologicalFair25 devs · median $4.8k · 34 announced
  3. + SimulationFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 25 announced
  4. + PuzzleLong shot15 devs · median $899 · 22 announced
  5. + Board GameLong shot13 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  6. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $18k · 17 announced
  7. + HorrorPoor odds22 devs · median $10k · 35 announced
  8. + AdventurePoor odds16 devs · median $6.6k · 23 announced
  9. + Character CustomizationPoor odds15 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  10. + PvPPoor odds77 devs · median $2.2k · 134 announced
  11. + ActionPoor odds46 devs · median $1.7k · 81 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds61 devs · median $1.5k · 102 announced

All 21 pairs on the Social Deduction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies older $7.99 7,792 91% 234k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,742) Striped Panda Studios
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Castaway Paradise - live among the animals older $14.99 447 71% 13k $201k (exactly $201,016) Stolen Couch Games
Eville older $14.99 433 68% 13k $195k (exactly $194,720) VestGames
MISTERY $11.99 290 64% 8.7k $104k (exactly $104,313) Game Frontier
Werewolves Within™ older $19.99 135 65% 4.1k $81k (exactly $80,960) Ubisoft
Prison Life 2 older $4.99 188 77% 5.6k $28k (exactly $28,144) AO Games
Who's Next? $4.99 123 87% 3.7k $18k (exactly $18,413) HellAssociation
BUNKER: RED FLAG · EA $4.99 93 79% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,922) Red Flag Team
Werewolf Party $7.99 56 89% 1.7k $13k (exactly $13,423) Absam Studios
diffiCULT · EA $4.99 52 94% 1.6k $7.8k (exactly $7,784) Ouz Games
Grim Pastures · EA $3.99 25 96% 750 $3.0k (exactly $2,992) 7hgamestudio
Catolonizer · EA $5.99 12 100% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Alin Games
Agent Versus $5.99 7 100% 210 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Game Inside Studio
The Hidden Camp $6.99 3 100% 90 $629 (exactly $629) E and B Games

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