The niche at a glance

Investigation on Steam: 4,657 released games, 1,674 in the last 12 months, 2,588 announced and still unreleased. Median lifetime reviews: 11. 47% of them never reached 10 reviews. Free to play: 9%. Investigation is a Steam store tag, applied by the developer and refined by players; a game carries several tags at once, so niche counts overlap and do not add up to the size of the Steam catalogue. Data as of .

What releases end up with

lifetime reviews · released 3 years ago to 90 days ago · failures included2,089 releases
p100
p252
median11
p7552
p90294
47% of them never reached 10 reviewsMedian price $6.99 · 9% free-to-play

Releases per year

outcomes count only games released more than 90 days ago, anything newer has not had time to gather reviews
2019
68med 212 · 12% unseen
2020
256med 25 · 27% unseen
2021
408med 23 · 28% unseen
2022
399med 23 · 31% unseen
2023
464med 15 · 40% unseen
2024
699med 16 · 40% unseen
2025
736med 13 · 43% unseen
2026
974med 4 · 61% unseen · 419 too fresh

Investigation × setting: what the pairings end up with

every setting tag shipped with Investigation at least 5 times · same window× setting× presentation
share reaching 500 reviews, shrunk towards the catalogue · click a row to open the concept
Investigation ×3 y12 mmedian≥500adjusted vs chancelast hitwho made it
Dystopian2265927.3% 13%–48%17.5%
cliché ×2.38538 d
Nobody Wants to Die
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator
Beholder: Conductor
Nobody Wants to Die · Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator · Beholder: Conductor
Historical95323217.9% 11%–27%15.9%
cliché ×1.91278 d
Murders on the Yangtze River
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
News Tower
Murders on the Yangtze River · Indiana Jones and the Great Circle · News Tower
Trains14549under 2015.7%
cliché ×1.50538 d
Beholder: Conductor
Loco Motive
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express
Beholder: Conductor · Loco Motive · Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express
Time Travel3891018.4% 9%–33%14.4%
cliché ×2.91196 d
Depersonalization
Enigma of Fear
Cybernetic Fault
Depersonalization · Enigma of Fear · Cybernetic Fault
LGBTQ+61196716.4% 9%–28%14.0%
ordinary ×1.19445 d
Magical Girl Witch Trials
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The Roottrees are Dead
Magical Girl Witch Trials · Indiana Jones and the Great Circle · The Roottrees are Dead
Noir137532714.6% 10%–21%13.6%
cliché ×7.57196 d
The Roottrees are Dead
The Precinct
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
The Roottrees are Dead · The Precinct · Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
World War II7314under 2012.3%
ordinary ×0.58265 d
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
TR-49
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle · TR-49
Conspiracy107331813.1% 8%–21%12.1%
cliché ×8.42207 d
The Operator
The Drifter
The Rise of the Golden Idol
The Operator · The Drifter · The Rise of the Golden Idol
Science3492214.7% 6%–30%11.7%
cliché ×1.85106 d
The Message from Deep Space
Botany Manor
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition
The Message from Deep Space · Botany Manor · The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition
Lovecraftian78202312.8% 7%–22%11.6%
cliché ×3.98252 d
Depersonalization
The Casting of Frank Stone™
Strange Antiquities
Depersonalization · The Casting of Frank Stone™ · Strange Antiquities
Cooking10028under 2011.1%
ordinary ×0.43677 d
Arctic Eggs
[Bober Bros] The Hole
Arctic Eggs · [Bober Bros] The Hole
Space4691713.0% 6%–26%11.1%
ordinary ×0.56106 d
LOCKDOWN Protocol
Species: Unknown
The Message from Deep Space
LOCKDOWN Protocol · Species: Unknown · The Message from Deep Space
Job Simulator12635under 2010.4%
ordinary ×1.49168 d
The Last Gas Station
Repair this!
The Last Gas Station · Repair this!
Faith13618under 2010.1%
cliché ×1.67105 d
Feed The Pit
Daemonologie
Feed The Pit · Daemonologie
Steampunk1445under 209.8%
cliché ×1.77341 d
Syberia - Remastered
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy
Syberia - Remastered · Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy
44 pairings cleared 20 releases; 61 more never reached 5 and are not listed. Compared against 6.7% for games that carry any tags at all.

About these numbers

“Adjusted” is the share pulled towards the catalogue with the weight of twenty releases: the top of any ranked list is optimistic (out of a hundred pairings one will show 35 % on 23 releases by luck alone), and the adjustment is what stops a small lucky group from leading. The band next to the raw share is the 95 % interval. This list is the same for everyone today; the second opinion is the description-based one on Pitch comps.