Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Detective
Of 218 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 262 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×208 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 262 games are announced against 122 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $4.7k (exactly $4,668) |
| Top 5% | $99k (exactly $98,594) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 218 |
| Released games | 878 |
| Announced | 262 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Investigation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 5,782 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 140 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 262 games are announced against 122 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
Batman - The Telltale Series 2016 · $6.8M 
The House of Da Vinci 2017 · $4.0M 
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise 2019 · $3.5M 
The Room Three 2018 · $2.3M 
The Silent Age 2015 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman - The Telltale Series | older | $14.99 | 15,060 87% | 452k | $6.8M (exactly $6,772,482) | Telltale |
| | The House of Da Vinci | older | $19.99 | 6,710 85% | 201k | $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) | Blue Brain Games |
| | Agent A: A puzzle in disguise | older | $19.99 | 5,901 95% | 177k | $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) | Yak & Co |
| | The Room Three | older | $5.99 | 12,997 95% | 390k | $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) | Fireproof Games |
| | The Silent Age | older | $9.99 | 5,966 93% | 179k | $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) | House On Fire |
 | Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express | older | $39.99 | 1,080 82% | 32k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) | Microids Studio Lyon |
 | The House of Da Vinci 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,051 90% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) | Blue Brain Games |
 | IMMORTALITY | older | $19.99 | 1,768 84% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid |
 | Chicken Police - Paint it RED! | older | $19.99 | 1,624 94% | 49k | $974k (exactly $973,913) | The Wild Gentlemen |
 | Down in Bermuda | older | $19.99 | 1,603 89% | 48k | $961k (exactly $961,319) | Yak & Co |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Confidential Killings - A Detective Game | $14.99 | 716 76% | 21k | $322k (exactly $321,985) | BRANE, Lorenzo Boni | |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | The Dark Rites of Arkham | $14.99 | 655 97% | 20k | $295k (exactly $294,554) | Postmodern Adventures | |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
 | Elroy and the Aliens | $17.99 | 463 97% | 14k | $250k (exactly $249,881) | Motiviti | |
 | Hotel Tales | $14.99 | 455 80% | 14k | $205k (exactly $204,614) | TopHouse Studio | |
 | True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 3 | $9.99 | 650 92% | 20k | $195k (exactly $194,805) | Goblinz Enterprises Ltd | |
 | Follow the meaning | $4.99 | 991 93% | 30k | $148k (exactly $148,353) | HiKing Mind Studio | |
 | Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 | $7.99 | 533 98% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,760) | NovaSoft Interactive Ltd. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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