Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Hidden Object

Of 361 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Action-Adventure 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.. 497 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $29k, ×46 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 497 games are announced against 179 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 497 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 361
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $1.3k → $1.2k → $1.2k → $538 → $359 → $538 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 361
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $480 (exactly $480)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 5% $29k (exactly $29,063)
Developers, 2 yr 361
Released games 966
Announced 497
Effort 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 7,690 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $480, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $29k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 222 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 497 games are announced against 179 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
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
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases older $19.99 1,168 76% 35k $700k (exactly $700,450) Blazing Griffin
GYLT older $19.99 907 95% 27k $544k (exactly $543,928) Haven Media, Parallel Circles
Boo Men · EA older $7.99 2,088 88% 63k $500k (exactly $500,494) Twisted Corridor👻
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight older $19.99 529 75% 16k $317k (exactly $317,241) Orbital Express
Ghost Janitors $9.99 917 87% 28k $275k (exactly $274,825) Interactive Wave Studio
Time Lock VR 1 older $12.99 665 78% 20k $259k (exactly $259,150) WR-VRG
10 Dead Doves $24.99 195 88% 5.9k $146k (exactly $146,192) Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Mic… (Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Michael Millard)
CAPTURED $6.45 627 95% 19k $121k (exactly $121,324) Puck Redflix
Space Accident VR $16.99 231 82% 6.9k $118k (exactly $117,741) VR-WRG
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み $7.44 388 94% 12k $87k (exactly $86,602) Fukachi World
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.