Do I ship it?

GamesHidden ObjectHidden Object + Historical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Historical

Of 56 developers who shipped a Historical 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $35k, ×56 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 58 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $898 → $2.5k → $1.7k → $1.4k → $899 → $538 (still earning) → $4.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,198)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,065)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 220
Announced 58
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Historical
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 861 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $900, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
The House of Da Vinci older $19.99 6,710 85% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) Blue Brain Games
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express older $39.99 1,080 82% 32k $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) Microids Studio Lyon
The House of Da Vinci 2 older $19.99 2,051 90% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Blue Brain Games
Last Room older $29.99 953 73% 29k $857k (exactly $857,414) Quantum Forge Studios
The House of Da Vinci 3 older $19.99 1,303 89% 39k $781k (exactly $781,409) Blue Brain Games
Hidden Through Time older $7.99 2,807 93% 84k $673k (exactly $672,838) Rogueside
A Tower Full of Cats older $5.99 2,304 99% 69k $414k (exactly $414,029) Devcats
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace older $11.99 607 91% 18k $218k (exactly $218,338) Ubik Studios, Stratera Games
Nancy Drew®: Warnings at Waverly Academy older $14.99 335 90% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) HeR Interactive
Attentat 1942 older $10.99 448 92% 13k $148k (exactly $147,706) Charles Games
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room $12.99 191 81% 5.7k $74k (exactly $74,433) mc2games
Omen Exitio: Hunger $9.99 117 88% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Tiny Bull Studios
Hidden Cats in Tokyo $5.99 172 92% 5.2k $31k (exactly $30,908) Nukearts Studio
Wound Man $8.99 65 93% 2.0k $18k (exactly $17,530) Aspidochelone Studios
Jewel Match Dracula Collector's Edition $13.99 28 89% 840 $12k (exactly $11,752) Suricate Software
Siberian Way $7.99 45 73% 1.4k $11k (exactly $10,786) ROOT GAMES
Jesus Simulator $12.99 24 54% 720 $9.4k (exactly $9,353) VRCFORGE STUDIOS
呪いの穢れ唄 鳴海龍也の回奇録 $6.99 43 95% 1.3k $9.0k (exactly $9,017) BogeymanGames
Tidy Up History $5.99 50 90% 1.5k $9.0k (exactly $8,985) Casual Human

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