Games › FPS › FPS + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object FPS?
FPS + Hidden Object
Of 121 developers who shipped a Hidden Object FPS 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.. 121 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $27k, ×18 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 121 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 5% | $28k (exactly $27,566) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 121 |
| Released games | 323 |
| Announced | 121 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 4,273 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 121 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
| | 35MM | older | $8.99 | 3,508 71% | 105k | $946k (exactly $946,108) | Носков Сергей |
| | Neighbors: Suburban Warfare | · EA | $9.99 | 1,906 66% | 57k | $571k (exactly $571,228) | Invisible Walls |
| | [Chilla's Art] The Closing Shift | 閉店事件 | older | $5.99 | 2,963 87% | 89k | $532k (exactly $532,451) | Chilla's Art |
| | Prehistoric Hunt | · EA older | $17.99 | 678 84% | 20k | $366k (exactly $365,917) | Antiproto Studios |
| | LIFE EFFECT Survival | · EA | $14.99 | 488 85% | 15k | $219k (exactly $219,454) | LIFE EFFECT |
| | Afterinfection | $8.99 | 463 56% | 14k | $125k (exactly $124,871) | RePatrick21 | |
| | Dead District: Survival | older | $9.99 | 415 48% | 12k | $124k (exactly $124,376) | BadBit Games |
| | Devilated | $19.99 | 163 85% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Trunka | |
| | Tomboy Adventure | older | $11.99 | 243 92% | 7.3k | $87k (exactly $87,407) | gcBronze |
| | Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み | $7.44 | 388 94% | 12k | $87k (exactly $86,602) | Fukachi World | |
| | 5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL | $1.99 | 535 93% | 16k | $32k (exactly $31,940) | Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV | |
| | Absolute-Full-Life | $14.99 | 68 76% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | The Only Way Out | |
| | Cleaning Simulator | $7.99 | 115 64% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $27,566) | Damaged Games | |
| | Mortanis Prisoners | $12.99 | 70 80% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $27,279) | Alexey Bulgakov, Vladimir Zlobin | |
| | Sniper Camouflage Orange Spy Warrior I Buried Two Bodies in the Garden and the Police Haven't Figured Out Yet That They're Missing Because They Were a Lonely Old Couple Who Had No Relatives Simulator 2026 | · EA | $9.99 | 77 66% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,077) | The Only Way Out |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.