Games › Action › Action + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object Action game?
Action + Hidden Object
Of 470 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Action game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 596 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $680, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $200; 1 in 20 cleared $36k, ×58 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 596 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $200 (exactly $200) |
|---|---|
| Median | $683 (exactly $683) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) |
| Top 5% | $36k (exactly $36,488) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 470 |
| Released games | 1,357 |
| Announced | 596 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 35% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Action
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Action, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 12,247 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $200. 9 in 10 of the 285 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 596 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + PinballFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BaseballFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TennisFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + TabletopFair
- + WuxiaPoor odds
Comparable games
Witch It 2020 · $8.7M 
Batman - The Telltale Series 2016 · $6.8M 
In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M 
I Expect You To Die 2017 · $1.6M 
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express 2023 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Witch It | older | $19.99 | 14,540 89% | 436k | $8.7M (exactly $8,719,638) | Barrel Roll Games |
| | Batman - The Telltale Series | older | $14.99 | 15,060 87% | 452k | $6.8M (exactly $6,772,482) | Telltale |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
| | I Expect You To Die | older | $24.99 | 2,169 95% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,626,099) | Schell Games |
| | Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express | older | $39.99 | 1,080 82% | 32k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) | Microids Studio Lyon |
 | 35MM | older | $8.99 | 3,508 71% | 105k | $946k (exactly $946,108) | Носков Сергей |
 | Last Room | older | $29.99 | 953 73% | 29k | $857k (exactly $857,414) | Quantum Forge Studios |
 | Echoes of the Living | · EA | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | MoonGlint Studio |
 | Stonemachia | $19.99 | 1,244 95% | 37k | $746k (exactly $746,027) | Crossfall Games | |
 | Emissary Zero | $8.99 | 2,683 83% | 80k | $724k (exactly $723,605) | Rone Vine | |
 | Neighbors: Suburban Warfare | · EA | $9.99 | 1,906 66% | 57k | $571k (exactly $571,228) | Invisible Walls |
 | Granny: Escape Together | $9.99 | 1,661 79% | 50k | $498k (exactly $497,802) | CreepyToad | |
 | Spooky Milk Life | · EA | $11.99 | 1,216 74% | 36k | $437k (exactly $437,395) | MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo |
 | Ghost Janitors | $9.99 | 917 87% | 28k | $275k (exactly $274,825) | Interactive Wave Studio | |
 | Shattered Divinities | $9.99 | 906 94% | 27k | $272k (exactly $271,528) | 星魂游戏 | |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
 | LIFE EFFECT Survival | · EA | $14.99 | 488 85% | 15k | $219k (exactly $219,454) | LIFE EFFECT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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