Terms of use
Last updated October 25, 2026
By playing Night Shift Detective you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the game.
The game
Night Shift Detective is a browser game in public beta. The daily case, the weekly challenge, and the start of career mode are free. Features, balance, and content will change, and open cases from earlier versions may occasionally be reassigned. Use Export save to keep your own backup.
Accounts
You need an account (just an email address) to save your progress. Keep access to that email secure, since anyone who can read it can sign in. One account holds one career. We may suspend accounts used to abuse the service. You can delete your account at any time from the game.
Full Career unlock
The free career runs until your first promotion or your fourth closed case, whichever comes first. A one-time purchase unlocks the full career (every rank, storylines, and the full daily case archive) for the account you buy it with, on every device you sign in on. It isn't a subscription. Payments are processed by Stripe, which acts as the seller of record and handles sales tax, receipts, and payment support. If you're under 18, ask a parent or guardian before buying.
Refunds: if you're not happy, ask for a refund within 14 days of buying and you'll get one, no questions asked. A refunded purchase removes the unlock; your career stays saved, back at the end of the free part. To ask, use the Feedback button in the game or reply to your receipt.
If the game is ever shut down, we'll give notice in the game first. Features and content in the unlock may change as the game is updated.
Daily case, weekly challenge, and leaderboards
Anyone can play the daily case and the weekly challenge without an account. Finished results go on public leaderboards, where players appear only as a random badge number. Leaderboards are for fun: we may remove results that look automated or manipulated, reset a board, or change how scores work, without notice.
Fiction
All people, places, cases, and organizations in the game, including the Port Calder Police Department and the State of Columbia, are fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental. Police and legal procedures are simplified for play and are not legal advice.
Content
The game depicts violent crime, including homicide, domestic violence, and the abduction of a child, and is intended for players 16 and older. It isn't graphic, but it doesn't look away either.
Acceptable use
- Don't attack, overload, or try to break into the site or its services.
- Don't submit unlawful, abusive, or spam content through the feedback form.
- Don't copy and redistribute the game or its code as your own.
- Don't use scripts, bots, or tampered saves to post leaderboard results.
Feedback
If you send ideas or suggestions, you allow us to use them to improve the game without owing you anything for them.
Ownership
The game, its code, art, and text belong to its creator. You may share screenshots and videos of your play.
No warranty
The game is provided "as is", without warranties of any kind. We aren't liable for lost saves or for any damages arising from use of the game, to the extent the law allows.
Changes
We may update these terms. Continuing to play after an update means you accept the new terms.