Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Demons

Of 105 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 102 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×111 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 102 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 102 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 105
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $1.3k → $1.4k → $2.2k → $1.7k → $748 → $1.4k (still earning) → $45 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 105
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $52,545)
Developers, 2 yr 105
Released games 330
Announced 102
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 45% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,994 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $900, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 60 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 102 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M Darkestville Castle 2017 · $300k Ghost Janitors 2025 · $275k I'm on Observation Duty 6 2023 · $235k Adam Wolfe 2016 · $152k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Mortuary Assistant older $24.99 7,269 92% 218k $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) DarkStone Digital
Darkestville Castle older $15.99 625 93% 19k $300k (exactly $299,812) Epic Llama Games
Ghost Janitors $9.99 917 87% 28k $275k (exactly $274,825) Interactive Wave Studio
I'm on Observation Duty 6 older $11.99 652 94% 20k $235k (exactly $234,524) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
Adam Wolfe older $5.99 844 91% 25k $152k (exactly $151,667) Mad Head Games
Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ $7.99 611 78% 18k $146k (exactly $146,457) Chilla's Art
DeathWatchers · EA older $11.99 295 84% 8.9k $106k (exactly $106,112) Swain Games
Devilated $19.99 163 85% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Trunka
Uninvited Guest older $9.99 322 73% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,503) AdroVGames
Era of Miracles older $29.99 106 75% 3.2k $95k (exactly $95,368) Argentum Gaming
Dream Cage $7.99 298 63% 8.9k $71k (exactly $71,431) Hitori De Productions
Riddlewood Manor $14.99 132 93% 4.0k $59k (exactly $59,360) Peanut Button
Welcome to Doll Town $4.99 351 42% 11k $53k (exactly $52,545) Bad Wish Games
Siren's Well $24.99 62 66% 1.9k $46k (exactly $46,481) OneManOnly Studios
Ghostbane · EA $8.99 155 67% 4.7k $42k (exactly $41,804) Pi Bit
Rehaunted $7.99 172 66% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) Cauchemar
Para Eyes $9.99 133 95% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,860) Shawno Studios

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