Do I ship it?

GamesFarming SimFarming Sim + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Farming Sim?

Farming Sim + Hidden Object

Only 15 developers shipped a Hidden Object Farming Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, The Last FARMER, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×212 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 29 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Farming Sim + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $8.2k → $4.0k → $748 → $896 → $599 → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Farming Sim + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 5% $101k (exactly $100,543)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 44
Announced 29
Effort 4 / 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 200% on the market, supply 15% 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.

Farming Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Farming Sim, Hidden Object; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Crafting, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 65% positive over 439 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair19 devs · median $12k · 23 announced
  2. + DogsFair18 devs · median $4.1k · 20 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair140 devs · median $1.6k · 168 announced
  4. + IdlerFair208 devs · median $1.3k · 211 announced
  5. + TacticalFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair17 devs · median $718 · 16 announced
  7. + God GameLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  8. + Visual NovelLong shot11 devs · median $239 · 13 announced
  9. + LGBTQ+Poor odds10 devs · median $146k · 16 announced
  10. + Psychological HorrorPoor odds11 devs · median $111k · 25 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds14 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  12. + HorsesPoor odds14 devs · median $70k · 20 announced

All 102 pairs on the Farming Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
The Witch of Fern Island older $24.99 700 69% 21k $525k (exactly $524,790) Enjoy Studio S.A.
Center Station Simulator · EA older $19.99 554 87% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Nightmare Phoenix
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Lawn Care Simulator $19.99 67 91% 2.0k $40k (exactly $40,180) Zac Marvin, Edward DePew
24 Solar Terms older $6.99 162 88% 4.9k $34k (exactly $33,971) FreeMenFreeTime
Russian Village Simulator on Mars $15.99 58 77% 1.7k $28k (exactly $27,823) VD Games, PropilGames
Instant Farmer - Logic Puzzle older $1.99 160 91% 4.8k $9.6k (exactly $9,552) Mens Sana Interactive
Freight Simulator older $5.99 48 52% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) New Games Waves, Softwaves
Wildstrive · EA older $7.99 34 44% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) MonsterGaze
Forsaken Valley $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) KineticFox
Drug Farmer Simulator · EA $7.99 9 11% 270 $2.2k (exactly $2,157) GOOSE GAME
Container Terminal Simulator · EA $6.99 6 50% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Tikam Studio
Sunny Reef $1.99 15 86% 450 $896 (exactly $896) GiBar
Master Leaf Blower · EA $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Frix, Buffa Software
Agro Simulator: Season 26 $4.99 5 20% 150 $748 (exactly $748) ManBeerTech
The Hallowed Garden $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) RadGard Studios

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