Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Hidden Object

Only 19 developers shipped a Hidden Object Metroidvania in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Shattered Divinities, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×572 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $2.1k → $418 → $2.0k → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,089)
Top 5% $272k (exactly $271,528)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 51
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 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 140% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Metroidvania, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, 2D Platformer
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,851 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

A Castle Full of Cats 2022 · $488k Shattered Divinities 2026 · $272k A Planet Full of Cats 2026 · $139k Astronite 2022 · $74k The Lacerator 2025 · $48k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
A Castle Full of Cats older $3.99 4,073 99% 122k $488k (exactly $487,538) Devcats
Shattered Divinities $9.99 906 94% 27k $272k (exactly $271,528) 星魂游戏
A Planet Full of Cats $7.99 581 89% 17k $139k (exactly $139,266) Devcats
Astronite older $14.99 165 70% 5.0k $74k (exactly $74,200) Dume Games Studio
The Lacerator $9.99 161 99% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Games From The Abyss
Happy Souls older $39.99 37 75% 1.1k $44k (exactly $44,389) Galactic Geckon
Touhou Double Focus older $10.99 88 72% 2.6k $29k (exactly $29,014) AQUASTYLE
Queen of treasure isle · EA $8.99 96 94% 2.9k $26k (exactly $25,891) gobou
Fire Hero - Pixel Rescue $9.99 37 97% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Ravenlore Studio
Oliver's Adventures in the Fairyland older $4.99 35 82% 1.1k $5.2k (exactly $5,240) Hoodoo Bear
Sonki's Lagoon · EA $7.99 20 95% 600 $4.8k (exactly $4,794) CocoDev
Violet Mind and The Mysterious Island $12.99 10 100% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) PLukol
Souno's Curse $9.99 10 60% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Kiro Team
Dead Lasso: Temple Of Shadows $6.99 13 76% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Chilling Moose Games
Hirai Nya $3.99 17 94% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) FirePillar2

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