Do I ship it?

GamesCombatCombat + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Hidden Object?

Combat + Hidden Object

Of 63 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 113 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 42 developers shipped in the last year and 113 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 113 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $1.5k → $987 → $1.3k → $1.8k → $359 → $536 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 5% $108k (exactly $107,973)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 164
Announced 113
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 35% on the market, supply 100% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
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
Combat, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,582 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
Lunar Eclipse · EA $14.99 765 82% 23k $344k (exactly $344,020) Black Rabbit's Tales
Shattered Divinities $9.99 906 94% 27k $272k (exactly $271,528) 星魂游戏
月藍傳奇REMAKE古文明之謎 older $19.99 244 93% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) 天使蛋糕, 攸藍, 牙籤, 黃金, 咕咕咕, 鎧特
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Schizo Dark $39.99 87 95% 2.6k $104k (exactly $104,374) Galactic Geckon
Grab and Guts older $29.99 87 94% 2.6k $78k (exactly $78,274) Galactic Geckon
恶魔迷宫 | Evil Maze older $1.99 807 76% 24k $48k (exactly $48,178) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Mortanis Prisoners $12.99 70 80% 2.1k $27k (exactly $27,279) Alexey Bulgakov, Vladimir Zlobin
Ortharion : The Last Battle $9.99 83 63% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Ortharion project
Castle Dark $19.99 19 94% 570 $11k (exactly $11,394) Wolfs Moon Studios
COLLAPSE COMPANY · EA $8.99 28 89% 840 $7.6k (exactly $7,552) VOLT-TECKS GAME STUDIO
Prison Life Sim 2026 - Survival · EA $9.99 16 0% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Great Escape Games Publishing

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