Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Lovecraftian

Of 27 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 34 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×9.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×662 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 34 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $3.1k → $1.3k → $4.6k → $449 → $94k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $4.6k (exactly $4,585)
Top 25% $94k (exactly $93,553)
Top 5% $314k (exactly $314,321)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 83
Announced 34
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 120% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Lovecraftian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Investigation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,268 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $4.6k, 1 in 4 over $93k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds17 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  2. + Level EditorFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair46 devs · median $3.5k · 41 announced
  4. + CatsFair128 devs · median $1.5k · 160 announced
  5. + DogsFair35 devs · median $1.5k · 18 announced
  6. + RomanceFair60 devs · median $1.5k · 48 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  8. + City BuilderFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  9. + SimulationFair475 devs · median $1.2k · 555 announced
  10. + UnderwaterFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Word GameFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair470 devs · median $1.2k · 502 announced

All 188 pairs on the Hidden Object page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Room 4: Old Sins 2021 · $4.8M The Room 2014 · $4.6M The Room Two 2016 · $3.2M The Room Three 2018 · $2.3M Rusty Lake: Roots 2016 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Room 4: Old Sins older $8.99 17,806 98% 534k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,278) Fireproof Games
The Room older $4.99 30,421 97% 913k $4.6M (exactly $4,554,024) Fireproof Games
The Room Two older $4.99 21,056 97% 632k $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) Fireproof Games
The Room Three older $5.99 12,997 95% 390k $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) Fireproof Games
Rusty Lake: Roots older $3.99 8,398 97% 252k $1.0M (exactly $1,005,241) Rusty Lake
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
FORM older $14.99 957 90% 29k $430k (exactly $430,363) Charm Games
Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden older $14.99 826 89% 25k $371k (exactly $371,452) Artifex Mundi
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
BLACKSHARD $14.99 432 91% 13k $194k (exactly $194,270) Redlock Studio, Enclave
I'm on Observation Duty 7 $11.99 426 93% 13k $153k (exactly $153,232) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
10 Dead Doves $24.99 195 88% 5.9k $146k (exactly $146,192) Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Mic… (Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Michael Millard)
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Letter Lost $19.99 156 82% 4.7k $94k (exactly $93,553) FlatNine Games
Omen Exitio: Hunger $9.99 117 88% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Tiny Bull Studios
The Echo Paradox $8.99 63 77% 1.9k $17k (exactly $16,991) Virtuzilla

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