Do I ship it?

GamesDating SimDating Sim + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Hidden Object?

Dating Sim + Hidden Object

Of 46 developers who shipped a Dating Sim 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.. 41 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×29 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.1k. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 41 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 29.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 41 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dating Sim + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $6.5k → $898 → $449 → $7.6k → $7.2k → $2.5k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dating Sim + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,465)
Top 25% $8.7k (exactly $8,683)
Top 5% $102k (exactly $101,949)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 137
Announced 41
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 100% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Dating Sim, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Cute, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 4,125 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WarStrong odds8 devs · median $100k · 3 announced
  2. + FMVStrong odds148 devs · median $57k · 111 announced
  3. + Souls-likeStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  4. + AliensStrong odds20 devs · median $6.7k · 15 announced
  5. + PlatformerStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  6. + HistoricalFair39 devs · median $27k · 44 announced
  7. + FPSFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  8. + Post-apocalypticFair29 devs · median $15k · 34 announced
  9. + Quick-Time EventsFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  10. + Immersive SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  11. + Action-AdventureFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  12. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced

All 142 pairs on the Dating Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer older $19.99 1,809 93% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) Elf, Shiravune
Spooky Milk Life · EA $11.99 1,216 74% 36k $437k (exactly $437,395) MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo
Secret Pie (Adult Version) older $5.99 2,261 85% 68k $406k (exactly $406,302) Momentum Games
Seven Nights Ghost older $11.99 617 92% 19k $222k (exactly $221,935) TozukuGames
Garage: Bad Dream Adventure older $19.90 364 97% 11k $217k (exactly $217,308) 作場金属製作所 Sakuba Metal Works, SmokymonkeyS
Umfend older $9.99 653 90% 20k $196k (exactly $195,704) AIHASTO
DDinosaur with Double D's $6.99 771 97% 23k $162k (exactly $161,679) Kud
Real Feel $19.99 170 64% 5.1k $102k (exactly $101,949) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Chicken Hill $2.99 1,134 99% 34k $102k (exactly $101,720) 梗立游戏
Tomboy Adventure older $11.99 243 92% 7.3k $87k (exactly $87,407) gcBronze
Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み $7.44 388 94% 12k $87k (exactly $86,602) Fukachi World
Sex Apartment 2: Grand Hotel $9.99 81 71% 2.4k $24k (exactly $24,276) Dreamers Workshop
Sex Apartment 💫 $4.99 150 62% 4.5k $22k (exactly $22,455) Dreamers Workshop
Waifu by Myside: Patch Me In $7.99 86 81% 2.6k $21k (exactly $20,614) Dreamers Workshop
Ladies, Don’t Tempt My Immortality $10.99 57 89% 1.7k $19k (exactly $18,793) 蒸汽满满工作室
Spellbound Beauties $6.99 72 83% 2.2k $15k (exactly $15,098) Lunar Kiss Games

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