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Should I ship an Alternate-History Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Alternate History
Of 26 developers who shipped an Alternate-History Hidden Object 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 38 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 35% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $416 (exactly $416) |
| Top 25% | $9.5k (exactly $9,524) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $74,433) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 98 |
| Announced | 38 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 down 35% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
- Alternate History
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 71% positive over 1,445 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Level EditorFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + DogsFair
- + RomanceFair
- + FlightFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + SimulationFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Word GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
Comparable games
The Silent Age 2015 · $1.8M 
A Tower Full of Cats 2024 · $414k 
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace 2022 · $218k 
マーダーミステリーパラドクス このひと夏の十五年 2023 · $149k 
Darkarta: A Broken Heart's Quest Collector's Edition 2017 · $137k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Silent Age | older | $9.99 | 5,966 93% | 179k | $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) | House On Fire |
| | A Tower Full of Cats | older | $5.99 | 2,304 99% | 69k | $414k (exactly $414,029) | Devcats |
| | Havsala: Into the Soul Palace | older | $11.99 | 607 91% | 18k | $218k (exactly $218,338) | Ubik Studios, Stratera Games |
| | マーダーミステリーパラドクス このひと夏の十五年 | older | $19.99 | 249 85% | 7.5k | $149k (exactly $149,325) | 213℉ |
| | Darkarta: A Broken Heart's Quest Collector's Edition | older | $9.99 | 457 89% | 14k | $137k (exactly $136,963) | Tuttifrutti Interactive |
 | The Last FARMER | $12.99 | 258 56% | 7.7k | $101k (exactly $100,543) | Geekon | |
 | Between Time: Escape Room | older | $9.99 | 326 80% | 9.8k | $98k (exactly $97,702) | mc2games |
 | macdows 95 | older | $4.99 | 520 92% | 16k | $78k (exactly $77,844) | Yunus Ayyildiz |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games | |
 | iDigging | $2.99 | 729 69% | 22k | $65k (exactly $65,391) | TWEN | |
 | Take Notes | $6.99 | 93 96% | 2.8k | $20k (exactly $19,502) | Stoneware Game Studio | |
 | 烧尾宴 | $8.99 | 52 75% | 1.6k | $14k (exactly $14,024) | 有点正经 | |
 | KARJALA | $13.99 | 25 52% | 750 | $10k (exactly $10,492) | UWEG | |
 | I Know This Place..? (chapter II) | $5.99 | 53 94% | 1.6k | $9.5k (exactly $9,524) | SameFrame | |
 | Get In Get Out | $3.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) | Wessi | |
 | Escape The Wojak GOTY | $2.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | Chungledown Max, Game Dev Guy | |
 | The Island of Thugs | $0.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $564 (exactly $564) | Big Green Platypus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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