Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Crime
Of 58 developers who shipped a Crime 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, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $66k, ×106 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 75 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $5.1k (exactly $5,090) |
| Top 5% | $67k (exactly $66,533) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 58 |
| Released games | 205 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
- Crime
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,690 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Level EditorFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + DogsFair
- + RomanceFair
- + FlightFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + SimulationFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Word GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
Comparable games
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! 2020 · $974k 
Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders 2016 · $916k 
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases 2021 · $700k 
Sunday Gold 2022 · $453k 
Crime O'Clock 2023 · $242k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Chicken Police - Paint it RED! | older | $19.99 | 1,624 94% | 49k | $974k (exactly $973,913) | The Wild Gentlemen |
| | Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders | older | $14.99 | 2,037 80% | 61k | $916k (exactly $916,039) | Artefacts Studio |
| | Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases | older | $19.99 | 1,168 76% | 35k | $700k (exactly $700,450) | Blazing Griffin |
| | Sunday Gold | older | $21.99 | 687 77% | 21k | $453k (exactly $453,214) | BKOM Studios |
| | Crime O'Clock | older | $19.99 | 403 66% | 12k | $242k (exactly $241,679) | Bad Seed |
 | Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case | older | $29.99 | 249 55% | 7.5k | $224k (exactly $224,025) | Blazing Griffin |
 | Nancy Drew®: Warnings at Waverly Academy | older | $14.99 | 335 90% | 10k | $151k (exactly $150,650) | HeR Interactive |
 | Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ | $7.99 | 611 78% | 18k | $146k (exactly $146,457) | Chilla's Art | |
 | Hope Lake | older | $7.99 | 501 71% | 15k | $120k (exactly $120,090) | Far Mills, Mysterytag |
 | Inspector Waffles | older | $12.99 | 223 95% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,903) | Goloso Games |
 | Dream Cage | $7.99 | 298 63% | 8.9k | $71k (exactly $71,431) | Hitori De Productions | |
 | Secrets of Blackrock Manor - Escape Room | $9.99 | 222 80% | 6.7k | $67k (exactly $66,533) | Biri Biri | |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios | |
 | Omen Exitio: Hunger | $9.99 | 117 88% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,065) | Tiny Bull Studios | |
 | Find or be Found | $7.99 | 117 69% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $28,045) | Studio Downstairs | |
 | Ghost Deliverer | · EA | $18.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $16k (exactly $15,952) | TEAMDADA |
 | IMPETUM | $4.99 | 87 60% | 2.6k | $13k (exactly $13,024) | TrueGames | |
 | Detective INNA DUKE | $5.99 | 62 100% | 1.9k | $11k (exactly $11,141) | HmarkaTeam | |
 | Night at the Office | $4.99 | 55 81% | 1.7k | $8.2k (exactly $8,234) | Stanislaw Truchowski |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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