Games › Economy › Economy + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object Economy game?
Economy + Hidden Object
Of 23 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Economy 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.. 44 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×608 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.3k (exactly $4,315) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,147) |
| Top 5% | $382k (exactly $381,838) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 44 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 285% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Crafting
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 4,728 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Russian Village Simulator 2023 · $800k 
Lost But Found 2024 · $486k 
My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All) ⭐ 2025 · $382k 
Frozen Ship 2026 · EA · $85k 
Treasure Beach 2026 · $81k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Russian Village Simulator | older | $29.99 | 889 84% | 27k | $800k (exactly $799,833) | VD Games, PropilGames |
| | Lost But Found | $6.99 | 2,316 71% | 69k | $486k (exactly $485,665) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All) ⭐ | $7.95 | 1,601 65% | 48k | $382k (exactly $381,838) | Polnoch | |
| | Frozen Ship | · EA | $19.99 | 142 76% | 4.3k | $85k (exactly $85,157) | Nionetix |
| | Treasure Beach | $9.99 | 271 81% | 8.1k | $81k (exactly $81,219) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Hotel Business Simulator | older | $12.99 | 191 46% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | Geekon |
 | ShoppingMall: Manager Simulator | $14.99 | 95 45% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $42,722) | Geekon | |
 | Russian Village Simulator on Mars | $15.99 | 58 77% | 1.7k | $28k (exactly $27,823) | VD Games, PropilGames | |
 | Internet Cafe Owner | older | $5.99 | 148 72% | 4.4k | $27k (exactly $26,596) | GidAzGames |
 | Portobugia | older | $7.99 | 84 83% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $20,135) | Bogland Studio |
 | Dig for TCG Cards With Your Friends | $6.99 | 77 44% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $16,147) | 3 Rare Devs | |
 | Baggage Handler Simulator | $4.99 | 102 76% | 3.1k | $15k (exactly $15,269) | Shleks, Maredy | |
 | Gun Store Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 41 56% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $12,288) | Geekon |
 | WEED SHOP SIMULATOR | · EA | $12.99 | 25 48% | 750 | $9.7k (exactly $9,742) | Dragon Path |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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