Do I ship it?

GamesHidden ObjectHidden Object + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Dragons

Of 20 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 16 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1005 the market median. Revenue is up 270% on the market; 16 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 270% on the market, 16 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $505 → $1.3k → $1.0k → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,704)
Top 5% $631k (exactly $631,042)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 45
Announced 16
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 270% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Dragons
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Puzzle, Creature Collector
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 669 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 $810, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $630k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy $39.99 526 90% 16k $631k (exactly $631,042) Microids Studio Paris
The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom older $14.99 167 82% 5.0k $75k (exactly $75,100) Sunward Games
The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom older $14.99 109 82% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Sunward Games
Sonya: The Great Adventure older $6.99 175 74% 5.3k $37k (exactly $36,698) Specialbit Studio
Spellbound Beauties $6.99 72 83% 2.2k $15k (exactly $15,098) Lunar Kiss Games
The Tale of Doris and the Dragon - Episode 2 older $11.99 36 97% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Arrogant Pixel LTD
Mystika 3 : Awakening of the dragons older $5.99 72 93% 2.2k $13k (exactly $12,938) Unikgame
Curse of Dragon Mountains: The Strix older $9.99 38 47% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Cateia Games
100 hidden frogs 2 older $0.99 327 77% 9.8k $9.7k (exactly $9,712) Anatoliy Loginovskikh
SEARCH ALL - ANIMALS older $2.99 87 73% 2.6k $7.8k (exactly $7,804) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
MONPIC -The Hatchling Meets a Girl- $8.99 16 93% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Happy Elements K.K
I Am Busy Digging A Hole $4.99 12 58% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Welding Byte
Finding Dragons $2.99 19 89% 570 $1.7k (exactly $1,704) Akaizergames
Elven Rivers 3: Sky Realm Collector's Edition $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) 8floor ltd
There's No Dragons $3.99 11 90% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Error 300
FIRE The First Dreamer $19.99 2 0% 60 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) SIC Games
スローライフサバイバー/SlowLife Survivor $6.99 5 0% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) MIZUBLUE GAMES
Academy of Magic - A New Beginning $8.99 3 0% 90 $809 (exactly $809) E-FunSoft Games

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