Games › Management › Management + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object Management game?
Management + Hidden Object
Of 62 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Management game 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.. 114 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $85k, ×136 the market median. Revenue is up 160% on the market; 114 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,449) |
| Top 5% | $85k (exactly $85,157) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 144 |
| Announced | 114 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 160% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Exploration
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 3,815 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 114 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Cozy Grove 2021 · $3.4M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M 
Minami Lane 2024 · $912k 
Ship, Inc. 2025 · $650k 
Center Station Simulator 2024 · EA · $332k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cozy Grove | older | $14.99 | 7,512 89% | 225k | $3.4M (exactly $3,378,146) | Spry Fox |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | Minami Lane | older | $4.99 | 6,089 97% | 183k | $912k (exactly $911,523) | Blibloop, Doot |
| | Ship, Inc. | $9.99 | 2,168 83% | 65k | $650k (exactly $649,750) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | Center Station Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 554 87% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Nightmare Phoenix |
 | Smash Hit Museum | $6.99 | 507 85% | 15k | $106k (exactly $106,318) | InIt Games | |
 | The Last FARMER | $12.99 | 258 56% | 7.7k | $101k (exactly $100,543) | Geekon | |
 | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | Climber: Sky is the Limit | older | $21.99 | 142 69% | 4.3k | $94k (exactly $93,677) | A2 Softworks, Art Games Studio S.A. |
 | Frozen Ship | · EA | $19.99 | 142 76% | 4.3k | $85k (exactly $85,157) | Nionetix |
 | Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit | $19.99 | 106 89% | 3.2k | $64k (exactly $63,568) | Spry Fox | |
 | ShoppingMall: Manager Simulator | $14.99 | 95 45% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $42,722) | Geekon | |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios | |
 | Parking Tycoon 2: Business Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 76 43% | 2.3k | $30k (exactly $29,617) | Geekon |
 | Find or be Found | $7.99 | 117 69% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $28,045) | Studio Downstairs |
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.