HomeSteam Genres › Detective

Detective on Steam: success rate & trends

Detective is above the Steam average for Steam developers: 8.7% of releases reach a meaningful audience (about 1.4× the 6.0% Steam-wide average), across 595 games tracked since 2024.

8.7%
Success rate
595
Releases tracked
52
Reached an audience
1.4×
vs Steam avg (6.0%)

Detective success rate by year

Steam avg 6.0%11.3%8.9%5.1%*202420252026** 2026 in progress — partial year, still maturing
YearReleasesReached audienceSuccess rate
20242122411.3%
2025225208.9%
2026 · in progress15885.1%

2026 is still in progress — it covers only part of the year, and recent releases haven't had time to reach the review threshold yet, so its release count and success rate both read artificially low. Across complete years (2024–2025) the settled rate is 10.1%.

What the data says

Out of every 100 Detective games released on Steam, roughly 9 break out to a meaningful audience — compared with about 6 in 100 across Steam as a whole. Detective ranks #131 of 466 tags by release volume, and #65 by success rate among well-populated genres, which makes it relatively underserved. Across complete years (2024–2025), Detective's success rate settles at 10.1% — the in-progress 2026 reads lower only because its games are still new.

Unlike "top sellers" lists that only count winners, this is an honest base rate — every tracked Detective release is in the denominator, including the many that never found an audience. That's the number that actually tells you your odds going in.

Track Detective — and 460+ other genres — live

Uptake Analytics turns Steam's entire release history into honest, base-rate analytics: genre momentum, underserved niches, pricing signals and custom reports. Start free, no card for 14 days.

Start your 14-day free trial →

Detective on Steam — FAQ

What percentage of Detective games succeed on Steam?
About 8.7% of Detective releases reach a meaningful audience — about 1.4× the 6.0% Steam-wide average — measured across 595 games released between 2024 and 2026.
Is Detective saturated on Steam?
Detective is relatively underserved, with 595 releases tracked (rank #131 by volume). With a success rate well above average, demand is still outpacing the crowd.
How many Detective games release on Steam each year?
In 2025 (the last complete year) about 225 Detective games released on Steam; 2026 is still in progress.
Is Detective a good genre to release on Steam?
By the numbers, Detective looks like above the Steam average — a 8.7% base-rate success vs 6.0% Steam-wide. Pair that with your scope, budget and marketing plan before committing.

Compare other Steam genres