Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Modern
Of 47 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $610; 1 in 20 cleared $27k, ×58 the market median. Revenue is up 300% on the market; 51 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $610 (exactly $610) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,158) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $9,017) |
| Top 5% | $28k (exactly $27,566) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 108 |
| Announced | 51 |
| 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 300% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Modern
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,480 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $610. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
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
Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography 2024 · $392k 
Platform 8 2024 · $325k 
Tiny Room Stories: Town Mystery 2021 · $243k 
Umfend 2018 · $196k 
Airport X-Ray Simulator 2024 · EA · $99k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography | older | $19.99 | 653 90% | 20k | $392k (exactly $391,604) | Autumn Pioneer |
| | Platform 8 | older | $3.99 | 2,719 86% | 82k | $325k (exactly $325,464) | KOTAKE CREATE |
| | Tiny Room Stories: Town Mystery | older | $9.99 | 812 86% | 24k | $243k (exactly $243,356) | Kiary Games |
| | Umfend | older | $9.99 | 653 90% | 20k | $196k (exactly $195,704) | AIHASTO |
| | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み | $7.44 | 388 94% | 12k | $87k (exactly $86,602) | Fukachi World | |
 | Natsuno-Kanata: Beyond Summer | older | $10.99 | 127 91% | 3.8k | $42k (exactly $41,872) | Kazuhide Oka |
 | Recolit | older | $14.99 | 88 87% | 2.6k | $40k (exactly $39,574) | Image Labo, Marudice |
 | Mom got stuck in the washing machine | older | $2.49 | 382 81% | 11k | $29k (exactly $28,535) | Mad Mike Production |
 | Cleaning Simulator | $7.99 | 115 64% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $27,566) | Damaged Games | |
 | Paragnosia | $3.99 | 228 92% | 6.8k | $27k (exactly $27,292) | Sine Coda | |
 | Paragnosia: Museum | $5.99 | 139 87% | 4.2k | $25k (exactly $24,978) | Sine Coda | |
 | Take Notes | $6.99 | 93 96% | 2.8k | $20k (exactly $19,502) | Stoneware Game Studio | |
 | UNHEIM | · EA | $11.99 | 53 90% | 1.6k | $19k (exactly $19,064) | Lovely Bytes |
 | Irbet Tong | $6.99 | 56 100% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,743) | Kyhynngy Oyuur | |
 | Blueman | $4.99 | 71 92% | 2.1k | $11k (exactly $10,629) | Ankoku | |
 | Kyoto Anomaly | $3.99 | 84 98% | 2.5k | $10k (exactly $10,055) | BiteMe Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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