Do I ship it?

GamesDrivingDriving + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Driving game?

Driving + Hidden Object

Of 26 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Driving game 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.. 23 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 23 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Driving + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $358 → $2.0k → $270 → $958 (still earning) → $897 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Driving + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 5% $7.1k (exactly $7,086)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 71
Announced 23
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 50% on the market, supply 110% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Driving
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling feel is tuned by hand
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Driving, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Walking Simulator, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 202 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 $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $7.0k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Split ScreenFair54 devs · median $6.0k · 56 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair35 devs · median $5.9k · 43 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  4. + Survival HorrorFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  5. + World War IIFair8 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  6. + MusicFair8 devs · median $2.4k · 10 announced
  7. + ThrillerFair18 devs · median $2.0k · 21 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $1.2k · 13 announced
  9. + LogicFair30 devs · median $958 · 29 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds82 devs · median $48k · 157 announced
  11. + AutomationPoor odds24 devs · median $44k · 36 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds24 devs · median $39k · 29 announced

All 130 pairs on the Driving page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disassembly 3D older $29.99 309 81% 9.3k $278k (exactly $278,007) Khor Chin Heong
Disassembly VR older $29.99 157 59% 4.7k $141k (exactly $141,253) Khor Chin Heong
Mystic Saga older $14.99 151 56% 4.5k $68k (exactly $67,905) FIVE-BN GAMES
[Chilla's Art] The Caregiver | 終焉介護 older $4.99 431 80% 13k $65k (exactly $64,521) Chilla's Art
[Chilla's Art] The Ghost Train | 幽霊列車 older $2.99 627 78% 19k $56k (exactly $56,242) Chilla's Art
Survival: Lost Way older $6.99 242 34% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,747) SimplePlan
Car Drive older $44.99 14 64% 420 $19k (exactly $18,896) kovalevviktor
Taxi Chaos older $24.99 22 50% 660 $16k (exactly $16,493) Team6 Game Studios
Mars Rover Simulator older $19.99 24 25% 720 $14k (exactly $14,393) DexterCoding
Abducted: The Night Hunters · EA older $14.99 20 85% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) .Cat
Eco Volunteer $11.99 25 92% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) Scope Creepers
Trucker Horror $2.99 79 64% 2.4k $7.1k (exactly $7,086) Fireplay Studio
The Echoes $8.99 9 100% 270 $2.4k (exactly $2,427) TruffCat
Ready-Player-Go! $14.99 5 60% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Ready-Player-Go!
Right Turn $4.99 14 85% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Grinding Crow
The Bunker $2.99 22 90% 660 $2.0k (exactly $1,973) Cyber752
Money Theft $4.99 13 76% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Valkeala Software, Tero Lunkka
Money Theft 3 Last Mission $4.99 13 84% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Tero Lunkka, Valkeala Software
Critter Drifters $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Doodle Donut
Nash Racing Pursuit 2 $3.99 10 100% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) Tero Lunkka, Valkeala Software

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