Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Incremental
Should I ship an Incremental Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Incremental
Of 134 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 143 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×7.5 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×267 the market median. Revenue is up 380% on the market; 143 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $297 (exactly $297) |
|---|---|
| Median | $897 (exactly $897) |
| Top 25% | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) |
| Top 5% | $32k (exactly $31,736) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 134 |
| Released games | 547 |
| Announced | 143 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 380% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Hidden Object, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,338 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 121 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery 2021 · $1.9M 
Boxes: Lost Fragments 2024 · $1.5M 
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! 2020 · $974k 
Hero of the Kingdom 2013 · $857k 
Doors: Paradox 2022 · $710k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery | older | $12.99 | 4,966 94% | 149k | $1.9M (exactly $1,935,250) | Silver Lining Studio |
| | Boxes: Lost Fragments | older | $14.99 | 3,244 92% | 97k | $1.5M (exactly $1,458,827) | Big Loop Studios |
| | Chicken Police - Paint it RED! | older | $19.99 | 1,624 94% | 49k | $974k (exactly $973,913) | The Wild Gentlemen |
| | Hero of the Kingdom | older | $7.99 | 3,574 94% | 107k | $857k (exactly $856,688) | Lonely Troops |
| | Doors: Paradox | older | $14.99 | 1,579 91% | 47k | $710k (exactly $710,076) | Big Loop Studios |
 | Hero of the Kingdom III | older | $9.99 | 1,234 78% | 37k | $370k (exactly $369,830) | Lonely Troops |
 | A Building Full of Cats | older | $2.99 | 4,103 98% | 123k | $368k (exactly $368,039) | Devcats |
 | Sort Them Ducks | $5.99 | 1,461 92% | 44k | $263k (exactly $262,542) | Mr.Duck | |
 | I'm on Observation Duty 6 | older | $11.99 | 652 94% | 20k | $235k (exactly $234,524) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games |
 | Ever Seen A Cat? | older | $4.99 | 944 97% | 28k | $141k (exactly $141,317) | EverCats |
 | Smash Hit Museum | $6.99 | 507 85% | 15k | $106k (exactly $106,318) | InIt Games | |
 | Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 3 | $6.99 | 476 91% | 14k | $100k (exactly $99,817) | Lonely Troops | |
 | The House of Da Vinci VR | $24.99 | 126 93% | 3.8k | $94k (exactly $94,462) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | I'm on Observation Duty 8 | $11.99 | 237 95% | 7.1k | $85k (exactly $85,249) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games | |
 | 3D Escape Room: Mystic Manor | $9.99 | 112 78% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $33,566) | Shenzhen Zhonglian Interactive Technolo… (Shenzhen Zhonglian Interactive Technology Co.,Ltd) | |
 | Toy Keeper | · EA | $4.99 | 212 67% | 6.4k | $32k (exactly $31,736) | Pocket Collector |
 | 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 |
 | 3D Escape Room: Cursed Legacy | $9.99 | 60 75% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,982) | Shenzhen Zhonglian Interactive Technolo… (Shenzhen Zhonglian Interactive Technology Co.,Ltd) | |
 | Witch Please: Sex Service | $7.99 | 70 65% | 2.1k | $17k (exactly $16,779) | Aquilon |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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