Mouse P.I. For Hire Pulls In $21.4 Million on April Launch

Mouse P.I. For Hire has sold roughly 730,000 copies since launching in April, and publisher PlaySide says the figure clears every cost tied to its release. The black-and-white shooter from debut studio Fumi Games arrived after a short delay and has now passed its break-even line in under a month.

PlaySide put estimated revenue at $21.4 million across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and Steam. Roughly half of those sales came from consoles, with the publisher pointing to the title's continued visibility on console storefronts. Milestone payments owed to Fumi Games, alongside publishing and marketing costs, have all been settled by that intake.

The game is Fumi Games' first commercial release. Players control Jack Pepper, a cigar-munching mouse detective voiced by Troy Baker, who previously played Joel in The Last of Us and led the cast of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Pepper's trigger-happy antics are paired with lively cartoon animation and a swinging orchestral score.

I think the more telling figure here is the recoup window rather than the topline, since Fumi Games is a debut studio and PlaySide has cleared its exposure on the project inside one sales month. The 50-percent console share points to where launch traction came from, with placement on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch 2 storefronts carrying weight alongside Steam.

The game launched on April 16 after a short delay from its earlier window. PlaySide had committed to Fumi Games on a milestone-payment basis, with publishing and marketing handled by the publisher. That structure has now been fully cleared by sales income.

Eurogamer awarded the game four stars in its launch review.

"Part chaotic retro shooter, part stylish cartoon noir, Mouse P.I. for Hire goes beyond its stellar artistry to deliver an invigorating, imaginative hard-boiled romp."

— Matt, Eurogamer

Mouse P.I. For Hire is set in Mouseburg, a corrupt city where Pepper takes cases as a private detective. The game pairs gunplay with puzzle-solving and exploration, layering side activities onto its central noir plotline. The art style imitates 1930s rubber-hose animation, and the soundtrack runs heavy on jazz and big-band orchestration.

Baker is also attached to Naughty Dog's upcoming IP Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, with his role there yet to be detailed. His casting in Mouse P.I. For Hire was confirmed during the pre-release run, and the studio paired his performance with hand-drawn frame animation rather than 3D character models.

I see the cross-platform day-one launch as the main reason the recoup landed so quickly, since most debut indie titles lead with Steam and add console versions months later. Shipping simultaneously on four platforms gave Fumi Games a wider net than the standard PC-first route would have allowed.

PlaySide has not announced post-launch content, a console-exclusive version, or a follow-up project with the studio.

Our Mouse P.I. For Hire Walkthrough guide walks players through full 100-percent completion, covering core progression, hidden collectibles, and missable achievements. Finishing the main story alone falls short of full completion, as the game layers puzzle-solving and exploration onto its detective plot.

And our Mouse P.I. For Hire Collectibles Guide includes every hidden item across Mouseburg, the corrupt city Pepper investigates after the April 16 release. The black-and-white art style hides collectibles in plain sight, which is part of why reviewers flagged the visuals as a standout alongside the soundtrack while criticising the thin storyline and repetitive enemies.

Read also, Troy Baker has said he is considering building his own video game studio. The actor told Eurogamer he is weighing the move and pointed to Abubakar Salim, who played Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins and later founded Surgent Studios, as a reference point.