Games › Mining › Mining + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Mining Hidden Object?
Mining + Hidden Object
Of 24 developers who shipped a Mining 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.. 22 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×224 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) |
| Top 5% | $106k (exactly $106,318) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 95% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Mining
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Mining, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Collectathon
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,662 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mining with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + TradingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + EconomyFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Winter 2022 · EA · $306k 
Dungeon Digger 2024 · $118k 
Digger: Galactic Treasures 2025 · $106k 
Smash Hit Museum 2025 · $106k 
Treasure Beach 2026 · $81k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Winter | · EA older | $29.99 | 340 73% | 10k | $306k (exactly $305,898) | Frostfall Realms Studios |
| | Dungeon Digger | older | $39.99 | 98 81% | 2.9k | $118k (exactly $117,571) | Galactic Geckon |
| | Digger: Galactic Treasures | $4.99 | 711 87% | 21k | $106k (exactly $106,437) | RainStyle games | |
| | Smash Hit Museum | $6.99 | 507 85% | 15k | $106k (exactly $106,318) | InIt Games | |
| | Treasure Beach | $9.99 | 271 81% | 8.1k | $81k (exactly $81,219) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | ScrewUp | older | $9.99 | 259 68% | 7.8k | $78k (exactly $77,622) | 199 Cents STUDIO |
 | Cave Digger VR | older | $19.90 | 52 65% | 1.6k | $31k (exactly $31,044) | VRKiwi |
 | Cave Digger | older | $14.90 | 63 82% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,161) | VRKiwi |
 | BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary | $19.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $19k (exactly $18,591) | BBG Entertainment GmbH | |
 | Boulder Dash Deluxe | older | $14.99 | 23 86% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | BBG Entertainment GmbH |
 | Just Dismantle | $2.99 | 45 93% | 1.4k | $4.0k (exactly $4,037) | Hubert Szwed | |
 | Submeris | $4.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | OxygenStudio | |
 | Mostly Trash Sometimes Treasure | $5.99 | 15 66% | 450 | $2.7k (exactly $2,696) | Bubbling Cat Games | |
 | Exo Digger | $4.99 | 14 14% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | TornaGames | |
 | Loot of Idle | $1.99 | 33 48% | 990 | $2.0k (exactly $1,970) | DarkRook Interactive | |
 | Mine of my Mind | $3.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | Olymp Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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