Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Hidden Object?

Co-op + Hidden Object

Of 89 developers who shipped a Co-op 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.. 181 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×85 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 181 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 181 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 89
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $5.0k → $3.0k → $3.1k → $1.8k → $3.9k → $1.3k (still earning) → $716 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 89
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,150)
Top 5% $127k (exactly $127,281)
Developers, 2 yr 89
Released games 225
Announced 181
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Co-op
effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 86,125 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $8.1k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SuperheroFair9 devs · median $11k · 17 announced
  2. + Boomer ShooterFair16 devs · median $6.9k · 24 announced
  3. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 32 announced
  4. + NinjaFair13 devs · median $4.2k · 13 announced
  5. + TypingLong shot16 devs · median $810 · 13 announced
  6. + Word GameLong shot23 devs · median $267 · 23 announced
  7. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds58 devs · median $515k · 127 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds12 devs · median $372k · 23 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds48 devs · median $369k · 110 announced
  10. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  12. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

MECCHA CHAMELEON 2026 · $14M Witch It 2020 · $8.7M Approximately Up 2026 · $746k Emissary Zero 2025 · $724k Boo Men 2022 · EA · $500k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MECCHA CHAMELEON $5.99 78,746 87% 2.4M $14M (exactly $14,150,656) lemorion_1224
Witch It older $19.99 14,540 89% 436k $8.7M (exactly $8,719,638) Barrel Roll Games
Approximately Up $24.99 995 93% 30k $746k (exactly $745,952) Approximately Games
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
Boo Men · EA older $7.99 2,088 88% 63k $500k (exactly $500,494) Twisted Corridor👻
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Prehistoric Hunt · EA older $17.99 678 84% 20k $366k (exactly $365,917) Antiproto Studios
Ghost Janitors $9.99 917 87% 28k $275k (exactly $274,825) Interactive Wave Studio
How 2 Escape older $12.99 684 71% 21k $267k (exactly $266,555) Breakfirst Games
Peekaboo older $2.99 2,780 79% 83k $249k (exactly $249,366) Redaster Studio
The Anomaly Project $7.99 531 81% 16k $127k (exactly $127,281) Kekdot
BodyRecords · EA $6.99 581 70% 17k $122k (exactly $121,836) MIROWIN
Cleaning Up The Puzzle Gallery $4.99 605 95% 18k $91k (exactly $90,568) Th3GameStudio
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine $12.99 161 83% 4.8k $63k (exactly $62,742) Breakfirst Games
Anomaly Company $7.99 177 77% 5.3k $42k (exactly $42,427) Kekdot

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