Games › Investigation › Investigation + Hidden Object
Should I ship an Investigation Hidden Object?
Investigation + Hidden Object
Of 321 developers who shipped an Investigation 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.. 355 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×224 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 355 games are announced against 173 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $987 (exactly $987) |
| Top 25% | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) |
| Top 5% | $106k (exactly $106,437) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 321 |
| Released games | 1,039 |
| Announced | 355 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Investigation, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 84,307 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 204 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 355 games are announced against 173 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
MECCHA CHAMELEON 2026 · $14M 
The House of Da Vinci 2017 · $4.0M 
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise 2019 · $3.5M 
Quern - Undying Thoughts 2016 · $2.9M 
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express 2023 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MECCHA CHAMELEON | $5.99 | 78,746 87% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,150,656) | lemorion_1224 | |
| | The House of Da Vinci | older | $19.99 | 6,710 85% | 201k | $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) | Blue Brain Games |
| | Agent A: A puzzle in disguise | older | $19.99 | 5,901 95% | 177k | $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) | Yak & Co |
| | Quern - Undying Thoughts | older | $24.99 | 3,812 90% | 114k | $2.9M (exactly $2,857,856) | Zadbox Entertainment |
| | 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 |
 | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
 | Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders | older | $14.99 | 2,037 80% | 61k | $916k (exactly $916,039) | Artefacts Studio |
 | The House of Da Vinci 3 | older | $19.99 | 1,303 89% | 39k | $781k (exactly $781,409) | Blue Brain Games |
 | Nancy Drew®: Midnight in Salem | older | $21.99 | 1,062 54% | 32k | $701k (exactly $700,601) | HeR Interactive, Inc. |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Foolish Mortals | $19.99 | 663 94% | 20k | $398k (exactly $397,601) | Inklingwood Studios | |
 | Lunar Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 765 82% | 23k | $344k (exactly $344,020) | Black Rabbit's Tales |
 | Confidential Killings - A Detective Game | $14.99 | 716 76% | 21k | $322k (exactly $321,985) | BRANE, Lorenzo Boni | |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | 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 | |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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