Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + LGBTQ+
Should I ship an LGBTQ+ Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + LGBTQ+
Of 23 developers who shipped an LGBTQ+ 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.. 31 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×7.5 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 31 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,672) |
| Top 5% | $141k (exactly $141,159) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 31 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 150% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- LGBTQ+
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Collectathon
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,566 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 16 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
IMMORTALITY 2022 · $1.1M 
Sunday Gold 2022 · $453k 
Spooky Milk Life 2025 · EA · $437k 
Black Lily's Tale 2023 · $250k 
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case 2023 · $224k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | IMMORTALITY | older | $19.99 | 1,768 84% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid |
| | Sunday Gold | older | $21.99 | 687 77% | 21k | $453k (exactly $453,214) | BKOM Studios |
| | Spooky Milk Life | · EA | $11.99 | 1,216 74% | 36k | $437k (exactly $437,395) | MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo |
| | Black Lily's Tale | older | $18.99 | 438 86% | 13k | $250k (exactly $249,529) | 1000-REKA |
| | Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case | older | $29.99 | 249 55% | 7.5k | $224k (exactly $224,025) | Blazing Griffin |
 | Tales of the Moon | $9.99 | 471 93% | 14k | $141k (exactly $141,159) | Cella | |
 | The August Before | $11.99 | 309 92% | 9.3k | $111k (exactly $111,147) | Silly Little Games | |
 | ESCAPE FROM BOYKISSER | older | $2.99 | 1,028 76% | 31k | $92k (exactly $92,212) | akhsotoen |
 | SHINRAI - Broken Beyond Despair | older | $14.99 | 126 90% | 3.8k | $57k (exactly $56,662) | Gosatsu Visual Novels |
 | Herald: An Interactive Period Drama - Book I & II | older | $11.99 | 108 88% | 3.2k | $39k (exactly $38,848) | Wispfire |
 | 贝如塔医院 Beta Hospital | $2.78 | 361 83% | 11k | $30k (exactly $30,107) | 逃跑灵羊工作室 | |
 | Halloween Harem | $11.99 | 20 80% | 600 | $7.2k (exactly $7,194) | HotPink | |
 | Hidden Hijinks: No Cats in the Orgy, Please! | $1.99 | 95 98% | 2.9k | $5.7k (exactly $5,672) | Ilias Kyriazis, eNVy softworks | |
 | Iridescence ~ A Charming, Seaside Epic! | $9.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) | NeoNight | |
 | Reliquare | $9.99 | 11 36% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Sambatti Games | |
 | 贝如塔公寓 Beta House | $2.78 | 38 76% | 1.1k | $3.2k (exactly $3,169) | 逃跑灵羊工作室 | |
 | Glitch Hearts | $2.99 | 28 85% | 840 | $2.5k (exactly $2,512) | Anime Aqua Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.