Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Hidden Object?

Building + Hidden Object

Of 50 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×248 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 75 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 75 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $899 → $3.2k → $6.0k → $1.8k → $2.9k → $836 (still earning) → $356 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $156k (exactly $155,973)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 170
Announced 75
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 down 75% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,700 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $750, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

LEGO® Builder's Journey 2021 · $2.4M Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M Minami Lane 2024 · $912k Hidden Through Time 2020 · $673k The Witch of Fern Island 2024 · $525k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LEGO® Builder's Journey older $19.99 4,041 82% 121k $2.4M (exactly $2,423,388) Light Brick Studio
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
Minami Lane older $4.99 6,089 97% 183k $912k (exactly $911,523) Blibloop, Doot
Hidden Through Time older $7.99 2,807 93% 84k $673k (exactly $672,838) Rogueside
The Witch of Fern Island older $24.99 700 69% 21k $525k (exactly $524,790) Enjoy Studio S.A.
Camper Van: Make it Home $14.99 1,150 91% 35k $517k (exactly $517,155) Malapata Studio
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
Center Station Simulator · EA older $19.99 554 87% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Nightmare Phoenix
Winter · EA older $29.99 340 73% 10k $306k (exactly $305,898) Frostfall Realms Studios
Disassembly 3D older $29.99 309 81% 9.3k $278k (exactly $278,007) Khor Chin Heong
Koira $17.99 289 93% 8.7k $156k (exactly $155,973) Studio Tolima
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
ShoppingMall: Manager Simulator $14.99 95 45% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Geekon
Voxelgram 2 $9.99 111 85% 3.3k $33k (exactly $33,267) Procedural Level
Toy Shop Tidy Up $4.99 175 71% 5.3k $26k (exactly $26,198) Shiftmoon
Baggage Handler Simulator $4.99 102 76% 3.1k $15k (exactly $15,269) Shleks, Maredy
Jewel Match Dracula Collector's Edition $13.99 28 89% 840 $12k (exactly $11,752) Suricate Software

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