Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Hidden Object

Of 217 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Immersive Sim 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.. 273 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×81 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 273 games are announced against 120 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 273 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 217
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $3.1k → $2.1k → $2.4k → $1.7k → $1.0k → $1.2k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 217
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,435)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,630)
Top 5% $121k (exactly $121,324)
Developers, 2 yr 217
Released games 460
Announced 273
Effort 8 / 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 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low 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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Puzzle, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 35,081 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 121 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 273 games are announced against 120 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
I Expect You To Die older $24.99 2,169 95% 65k $1.6M (exactly $1,626,099) Schell Games
IMMORTALITY older $19.99 1,768 84% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
Lushfoil Photography Sim $14.99 1,718 91% 52k $773k (exactly $772,585) Matt2
PANELKI older $7.99 2,404 86% 72k $576k (exactly $576,239) Alexander Gromyko
[Chilla's Art] The Closing Shift | 閉店事件 older $5.99 2,963 87% 89k $532k (exactly $532,451) Chilla's Art
The Witch of Fern Island older $24.99 700 69% 21k $525k (exactly $524,790) Enjoy Studio S.A.
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography older $19.99 653 90% 20k $392k (exactly $391,604) Autumn Pioneer
My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All) ⭐ $7.95 1,601 65% 48k $382k (exactly $381,838) Polnoch
Sort Them Ducks $5.99 1,461 92% 44k $263k (exactly $262,542) Mr.Duck
Take me, Vitaly $5.99 1,136 98% 34k $204k (exactly $204,139) Старый Билд
Dyping Escape $9.99 544 91% 16k $163k (exactly $163,037) Heaviside Creations
DDinosaur with Double D's $6.99 771 97% 23k $162k (exactly $161,679) Kud
I'm on Observation Duty 7 $11.99 426 93% 13k $153k (exactly $153,232) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ $7.99 611 78% 18k $146k (exactly $146,457) Chilla's Art

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