Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Idler
Of 40 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 49 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 49 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,746) |
| Top 5% | $153k (exactly $153,232) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 153 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 down 75% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Hidden Object, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Simulation
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $4.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $4.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,516 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different second tag, 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
SchoolBoy Runaway 2024 · $223k 
I'm on Observation Duty 7 2024 · $153k 
Dead District: Survival 2023 · $124k 
PropHunter 2021 · EA · $110k 
Smash Hit Museum 2025 · $106k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
| | I'm on Observation Duty 7 | $11.99 | 426 93% | 13k | $153k (exactly $153,232) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games | |
| | Dead District: Survival | older | $9.99 | 415 48% | 12k | $124k (exactly $124,376) | BadBit Games |
| | PropHunter | · EA older | $3.99 | 917 79% | 28k | $110k (exactly $109,765) | Alone Fox Games |
| | Smash Hit Museum | $6.99 | 507 85% | 15k | $106k (exactly $106,318) | InIt Games | |
 | Coin Flipper | older | $2.99 | 483 84% | 14k | $43k (exactly $43,325) | Simon Eftestol |
 | 5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL | $1.99 | 535 93% | 16k | $32k (exactly $31,940) | Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV | |
 | Night Mysteries: The Amphora Prisoner | older | $10.99 | 90 63% | 2.7k | $30k (exactly $29,673) | Anvate Games |
 | Another Try | older | $2.99 | 290 50% | 8.7k | $26k (exactly $26,013) | Hoki Wolf Studio |
 | Mars Rover Simulator | older | $19.99 | 24 25% | 720 | $14k (exactly $14,393) | DexterCoding |
 | Bottle Can Float | $3.99 | 91 89% | 2.7k | $11k (exactly $10,893) | Kayla.Z | |
 | Trucker Horror | $2.99 | 79 64% | 2.4k | $7.1k (exactly $7,086) | Fireplay Studio | |
 | Adult spirit | $3.99 | 52 84% | 1.6k | $6.2k (exactly $6,224) | Inspite, W-I-W | |
 | Wet City | $3.99 | 28 67% | 840 | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) | Rabro | |
 | Slenderman: Shadow of the Forest | $4.99 | 21 38% | 630 | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) | BugTeam | |
 | 1000 hidden snails | $1.99 | 46 56% | 1.4k | $2.7k (exactly $2,746) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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