Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Animals

Of 23 developers who shipped an Animal 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×101 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 27 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.1k → $30k → $15k → $35k → $6.5k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,186)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $47,952)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 53
Announced 27
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $1.99

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 55% on the market, supply 320% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Animals
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Collectathon, Exploration
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
9 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cozy, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $1.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 3,347 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 2 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds17 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  2. + Level EditorFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair46 devs · median $3.5k · 41 announced
  4. + CatsFair128 devs · median $1.5k · 160 announced
  5. + DogsFair35 devs · median $1.5k · 18 announced
  6. + RomanceFair60 devs · median $1.5k · 48 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  8. + City BuilderFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  9. + SimulationFair475 devs · median $1.2k · 555 announced
  10. + UnderwaterFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Word GameFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair470 devs · median $1.2k · 502 announced

All 188 pairs on the Hidden Object page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sort Them Ducks 2026 · $263k Travellin Cats Around the World 2024 · $120k Ever Seen A Cat? 3 2022 · $58k Travellin Cats in Italy 2023 · $53k Hidden in my Paradise 2024 · $48k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sort Them Ducks $5.99 1,461 92% 44k $263k (exactly $262,542) Mr.Duck
Travellin Cats Around the World older $4.99 804 97% 24k $120k (exactly $120,359) Travellin Cats
Ever Seen A Cat? 3 older $4.99 387 96% 12k $58k (exactly $57,934) EverCats
Travellin Cats in Italy older $0.99 1,792 97% 54k $53k (exactly $53,222) Travellin Cats
Hidden in my Paradise $9.99 160 90% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,952) Ogre Pixel
Travellin Cats in Bali older $0.99 1,305 98% 39k $39k (exactly $38,758) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in Maple Hollow 🍂 older $0.99 1,231 97% 37k $37k (exactly $36,561) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats Around the World 2 $4.99 236 97% 7.1k $35k (exactly $35,329) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in China older $0.99 1,017 98% 31k $30k (exactly $30,205) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in Georgia older $0.99 905 92% 27k $27k (exactly $26,878) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in Japan $0.99 751 97% 23k $22k (exactly $22,305) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in Germany $0.99 519 96% 16k $15k (exactly $15,414) Travellin Cats
FROGGONIT $9.99 44 100% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Fuz Games
Mothkeep $4.99 83 96% 2.5k $12k (exactly $12,425) Ivette Schmidt
Moose Diver $4.99 48 83% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) Lingon Studios
No Stone Unturned · EA $11.99 18 100% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Wise Monkey Entertainment Ltd.
Hidden around the World $7.99 27 88% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) Ogre Pixel

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