Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Horror
Of 725 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 671 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is flat on the market; 671 games are announced against 403 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $897 (exactly $897) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,594) |
| Top 5% | $44k (exactly $44,105) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 725 |
| Released games | 1,805 |
| Announced | 671 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Horror
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 132,574 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 408 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 671 games are announced against 403 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Level EditorFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + DogsFair
- + RomanceFair
- + FlightFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + SimulationFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Word GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
Fran Bow 2015 · $9.3M 
In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M 
The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M 
The Room 4: Old Sins 2021 · $4.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | Fran Bow | older | $14.99 | 20,579 97% | 617k | $9.3M (exactly $9,254,376) | Killmonday Games AB |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
| | The Mortuary Assistant | older | $24.99 | 7,269 92% | 218k | $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) | DarkStone Digital |
| | The Room 4: Old Sins | older | $8.99 | 17,806 98% | 534k | $4.8M (exactly $4,802,278) | Fireproof Games |
 | The Room | older | $4.99 | 30,421 97% | 913k | $4.6M (exactly $4,554,024) | Fireproof Games |
 | The Room Two | older | $4.99 | 21,056 97% | 632k | $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) | Fireproof Games |
 | The Room Three | older | $5.99 | 12,997 95% | 390k | $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) | Fireproof Games |
 | Birth | older | $10.99 | 4,003 95% | 120k | $1.3M (exactly $1,319,789) | Madison Karrh |
 | IMMORTALITY | older | $19.99 | 1,768 84% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid |
 | Echoes of the Living | · EA | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | MoonGlint Studio |
 | Emissary Zero | $8.99 | 2,683 83% | 80k | $724k (exactly $723,605) | Rone Vine | |
 | Granny: Escape Together | $9.99 | 1,661 79% | 50k | $498k (exactly $497,802) | CreepyToad | |
 | Slender Threads | $19.99 | 574 90% | 17k | $344k (exactly $344,228) | Blyts | |
 | Lunar Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 765 82% | 23k | $344k (exactly $344,020) | Black Rabbit's Tales |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | Dollmare | $4.99 | 2,045 94% | 61k | $306k (exactly $306,136) | Alex Grade, gonzeek, Oxeren | |
 | The Dark Rites of Arkham | $14.99 | 655 97% | 20k | $295k (exactly $294,554) | Postmodern Adventures | |
 | Ghost Janitors | $9.99 | 917 87% | 28k | $275k (exactly $274,825) | Interactive Wave Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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