Do I ship it?

GamesCreature CollectorCreature Collector + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Hidden Object

Of 86 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Creature Collector 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.. 120 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $870; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×67 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 120 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 120 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.4k → $2.6k → $2.4k → $2.0k → $1.8k → $1.7k → $1.5k (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $861 (exactly $861)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,704)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $3,950)
Top 5% $42k (exactly $41,940)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 564
Announced 120
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 50% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Creature Collector
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
Creature Collector, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Exploration, Point & Click
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, Cozy
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 5,217 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $870, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $3.9k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $870. 8 in 10 of the 149 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Perma DeathFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  3. + CapitalismFair38 devs · median $3.2k · 38 announced
  4. + LootFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  5. + IdlerFair248 devs · median $2.1k · 260 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair177 devs · median $1.9k · 191 announced
  7. + Action RoguelikeFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  8. + SpaceFair30 devs · median $1.5k · 39 announced
  9. + ZombiesFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair73 devs · median $629 · 85 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $28k · 82 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds14 devs · median $23k · 43 announced

All 133 pairs on the Creature Collector page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective older $11.99 1,902 95% 57k $684k (exactly $684,149) Darjeeling
A Castle Full of Cats older $3.99 4,073 99% 122k $488k (exactly $487,538) Devcats
A Tower Full of Cats older $5.99 2,304 99% 69k $414k (exactly $414,029) Devcats
DRAGON QUEST TREASURES older $49.99 257 77% 7.7k $385k (exactly $385,423) Square Enix, TOSE CO., LTD.
A Building Full of Cats older $2.99 4,103 98% 123k $368k (exactly $368,039) Devcats
A Building Full of Cats 2 $6.99 1,145 97% 34k $240k (exactly $240,106) Devcats
A Shelter Full of Cats $4.99 1,152 97% 35k $172k (exactly $172,454) Devcats
A Planet Full of Cats $7.99 581 89% 17k $139k (exactly $139,266) Devcats
Travellin Cats Around the World older $4.99 804 97% 24k $120k (exactly $120,359) Travellin Cats
Space Accident VR $16.99 231 82% 6.9k $118k (exactly $117,741) VR-WRG
Chicken Hill $2.99 1,134 99% 34k $102k (exactly $101,720) 梗立游戏
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit $19.99 106 89% 3.2k $64k (exactly $63,568) Spry Fox
Dofamine VR $9.99 173 82% 5.2k $52k (exactly $51,848) VR-WRG
Whisker Wanderlust: The Mosaic of Souls $4.99 340 89% 10k $51k (exactly $50,898) MEOW STORE GAME
Whisker Wanderlust: The Wondrous Journey $6.99 200 93% 6.0k $42k (exactly $41,940) MEOW STORE GAME
Ghostbane · EA $8.99 155 67% 4.7k $42k (exactly $41,804) Pi Bit

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