Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Dark Fantasy

Of 87 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 117 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×233 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 117 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 117 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 87
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $1.7k → $748 → $538 → $748 → $599 → $2.1k (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 87
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $146,457)
Developers, 2 yr 87
Released games 260
Announced 117
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 up 45% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 3,736 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds17 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  2. + Level EditorFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair46 devs · median $3.5k · 41 announced
  4. + CatsFair128 devs · median $1.5k · 160 announced
  5. + DogsFair35 devs · median $1.5k · 18 announced
  6. + RomanceFair60 devs · median $1.5k · 48 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  8. + City BuilderFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  9. + SimulationFair475 devs · median $1.2k · 555 announced
  10. + UnderwaterFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Word GameFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair470 devs · median $1.2k · 502 announced

All 188 pairs on the Hidden Object page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Fran Bow 2015 · $9.3M Slender Threads 2025 · $344k The Dark Rites of Arkham 2026 · $295k Shattered Divinities 2026 · $272k Hotel Tales 2026 · $205k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Fran Bow older $14.99 20,579 97% 617k $9.3M (exactly $9,254,376) Killmonday Games AB
Slender Threads $19.99 574 90% 17k $344k (exactly $344,228) Blyts
The Dark Rites of Arkham $14.99 655 97% 20k $295k (exactly $294,554) Postmodern Adventures
Shattered Divinities $9.99 906 94% 27k $272k (exactly $271,528) 星魂游戏
Hotel Tales $14.99 455 80% 14k $205k (exactly $204,614) TopHouse Studio
My Beautiful Paper Smile older $14.99 353 82% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) Two Star Games
Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ $7.99 611 78% 18k $146k (exactly $146,457) Chilla's Art
The 7th Guest Remake $19.99 241 86% 7.2k $145k (exactly $144,528) Vertigo Games, Exkee
Daymare Town $24.99 117 98% 3.5k $88k (exactly $87,715) Mateusz Skutnik
Time Lock VR 2 older $12.99 170 88% 5.1k $66k (exactly $66,249) WR-VRG
TARO IS BACK $15.00 44 84% 1.3k $20k (exactly $19,800) BeforeHomeWorks
Scholar Adventure: Mystery of Silence $7.99 82 92% 2.5k $20k (exactly $19,655) Making Enemies, Ayose Trujillo
The Little Tomb: The Maholova Club and the Search for a Dead Body $11.99 51 96% 1.5k $18k (exactly $18,345) CAVYHOUSE

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