Ticker: price and year-over-year change for 40 genres. Price is the median estimated first-year revenue of indie paid launches. The same figures are on the Genres page.
Niches / Interactive Fiction + Mystery
Interactive Fiction + Mystery
Games tagged both Interactive Fiction and Mystery: 142 indie paid launches, 19 of them earned $100k+ in their first year.
Showing Interactive Fiction + Mystery priced $10 to $20, hiding samples under 30 launches.
The pair's chance of a $100k+ first year beside each of its two tags, ranked like a high-score table, with typical earnings and the launches behind every figure.
Interactive Fiction + Mystery beats both its tags: 37.5 in 100 of its launches earned $100k+ priced $10 to $20, against 16.7 in 100 for Interactive Fiction and 22.7 in 100 for Mystery.
That is about 2.0 times the 18.6 in 100 expected for any launch at this price.
Each circle is one tag, sized by its launches, and the gold overlap is exactly this pair. Click a part to read it. Price changes the odds more than genre does (under $5: 0.5 in 100 launches earned $100k+; $20 to $40: 42.4 in 100), so read it within a price band.
The overlap is this niche: the 32 games tagged both Interactive Fiction and Mystery priced $10 to $20. 37.5 in 100 of them earned $100k+, against 13.9 for Interactive Fiction-only games and 21.0 for Mystery-only games, so games with both tags did better than games with either tag alone.
Both: 32 games priced $10 to $20; 37.5 in 100 earned $100k+, typical first-year earnings $34,970.
Circle areas follow launch counts; the gold overlap is exactly the pair's 32 launches. The outer parts are each tag's launches minus the pair's, so their chance is exact; their typical earnings are not computed yet.
Who leads this pair and each of its tags. Free until launch: one click opens the card. The full comparables list (nearest hits by tag pair, price and launch year) is not computed yet, and the card says so.
Top earner, share of the moneyFree until launch
Lens checkAudience-sensitive. Standard: the yardstick. West-facing view: moves the answer. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.
Open free previewFree until launch: one click opens the card.
Nearest hits (similar games that earned $100k+, matched by tag pair, price and launch year): not computed yet.
Filters do not apply here yet. Leaders and shares are for all prices and the Standard view; per price band and per lens they are not computed yet.
The same figures with three kinds of games set aside: those with a mostly Chinese audience, the single biggest earner, and everything older than 18 months.
Interactive Fiction + Mystery is audience-sensitive: West-facing view moves the answer by more than a quarter. It holds in 2 of 3.
| This pair | BaseStandardevery launch | West-facing view114 of 142 launches | Without the breakout141 of 142 launches | Last 18 months86 of 142 launches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launches counted | 14219 hits | 11414 hits | 14118 hits | 8612 hits |
| Earned $100k+ | 13.4 in 100 | 12.3 in 100 | 12.8 in 100 | 14.0 in 100 |
| Typical first-year earnings | $1,718top tenth $168,749+ | $1,029 | $1,695 | $1,695 |
| Chance against standard | the yardstick | -8.2%1.1 fewer in 100 | -4.5%0.6 fewer in 100 | +4.5%0.6 more in 100 |
| Typical against standard | the yardstick | -40.1%$689 less | -1.3%$23 less | -1.3%$23 less |
| Does it hold? | The base view | Moves the answer | Holds | Holds |
Every indie paid launch tagged both Interactive Fiction and Mystery, 6 to 30 months old: 142 launches.
Games mostly reviewed outside China. Drops games whose audience is mostly Chinese, meaning 35% or more of their reviews are in Simplified Chinese: 28 of 142 launches here. Review language is measured for games with 2,000+ reviews; smaller games are guessed from their names.
Drops the single biggest earner, Until Then (39.1% of the money): 141 launches left.
Keeps only launches 18 months old or newer: 86 of 142.
Interactive Fiction holds in 3 of 3: every lens keeps the chance and typical earnings within a quarter of the standard figures.
| Interactive Fiction | BaseStandardevery launch | West-facing view1,254 of 1,438 launches | Without the breakout1,437 of 1,438 launches | Last 18 months817 of 1,438 launches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launches counted | 1,43884 hits | 1,25464 hits | 1,43783 hits | 81755 hits |
| Earned $100k+ | 5.8 in 1001 in 17 | 5.1 in 1001 in 20 | 5.8 in 1001 in 17 | 6.7 in 1001 in 15 |
| Typical first-year earnings | $909top tenth $41,699+ | $849 | $909 | $787 |
| Chance against standard | the yardstick | -12.1%0.7 fewer in 100 | 0.0%no change | +15.5%0.9 more in 100 |
| Typical against standard | the yardstick | -6.6%$60 less | 0.0%no change | -13.4%$122 less |
| Does it hold? | The base view | Holds | Holds | Holds |
Every indie paid launch tagged Interactive Fiction, 6 to 30 months old: 1,438 launches.
Games mostly reviewed outside China. Drops games whose audience is mostly Chinese, meaning 35% or more of their reviews are in Simplified Chinese: 184 of 1,438 launches here. Review language is measured for games with 2,000+ reviews; smaller games are guessed from their names.
Drops the single biggest earner, Until Then (10.3% of the money): 1,437 launches left.
Keeps only launches 18 months old or newer: 817 of 1,438.
Mystery holds in 3 of 3: every lens keeps the chance and typical earnings within a quarter of the standard figures.
| Mystery | BaseStandardevery launch | West-facing view1,293 of 1,381 launches | Without the breakout1,380 of 1,381 launches | Last 18 months791 of 1,381 launches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launches counted | 1,381125 hits | 1,293110 hits | 1,380124 hits | 79161 hits |
| Earned $100k+ | 9.1 in 1001 in 11 | 8.5 in 1001 in 12 | 9.0 in 1001 in 11 | 7.7 in 1001 in 13 |
| Typical first-year earnings | $1,052top tenth $74,317+ | $1,013 | $1,052 | $810 |
| Chance against standard | the yardstick | -6.6%0.6 fewer in 100 | -1.1%0.1 fewer in 100 | -15.4%1.4 fewer in 100 |
| Typical against standard | the yardstick | -3.7%$39 less | 0.0%no change | -23.0%$242 less |
| Does it hold? | The base view | Holds | Holds | Holds |
Every indie paid launch tagged Mystery, 6 to 30 months old: 1,381 launches.
Games mostly reviewed outside China. Drops games whose audience is mostly Chinese, meaning 35% or more of their reviews are in Simplified Chinese: 88 of 1,381 launches here. Review language is measured for games with 2,000+ reviews; smaller games are guessed from their names.
Drops the single biggest earner, Blue Prince (12.8% of the money): 1,380 launches left.
Keeps only launches 18 months old or newer: 791 of 1,381.
A lens holds when chance and typical earnings both stay within 25% of standard. Lens figures by price band are not computed yet, so this table is for all prices.
Alerts when Interactive Fiction + Mystery moves, comparables the day they land, and every lens for every pair and price. Free until launch.
Keep gold access after launch: alerts, comparables, every lens.
Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.