Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Mystery

Of 577 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 631 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 631 games are announced against 335 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 631 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 577
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $2.4k → $1.3k → $1.9k → $1.3k → $629 → $898 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 577
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,198)
Top 5% $74k (exactly $74,433)
Developers, 2 yr 577
Released games 1,835
Announced 631
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 down 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 90,846 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $780, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 359 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 631 games are announced against 335 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

MECCHA CHAMELEON 2026 · $14M The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M The Room 4: Old Sins 2021 · $4.8M The Room 2014 · $4.6M The House of Da Vinci 2017 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MECCHA CHAMELEON $5.99 78,746 87% 2.4M $14M (exactly $14,150,656) lemorion_1224
The Mortuary Assistant older $24.99 7,269 92% 218k $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) DarkStone Digital
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 House of Da Vinci older $19.99 6,710 85% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) Blue Brain Games
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise older $19.99 5,901 95% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) Yak & Co
The Room Two older $4.99 21,056 97% 632k $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) Fireproof Games
Quern - Undying Thoughts older $24.99 3,812 90% 114k $2.9M (exactly $2,857,856) Zadbox Entertainment
Whisper of the House $14.99 5,344 96% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,403,197) 元气弹工作室(GD Studio)
The Room Three older $5.99 12,997 95% 390k $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) Fireproof Games
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Foolish Mortals $19.99 663 94% 20k $398k (exactly $397,601) Inklingwood Studios
Slender Threads $19.99 574 90% 17k $344k (exactly $344,228) Blyts
Confidential Killings - A Detective Game $14.99 716 76% 21k $322k (exactly $321,985) BRANE, Lorenzo Boni
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss $39.99 262 54% 7.9k $314k (exactly $314,321) Big Bad Wolf
Dollmare $4.99 2,045 94% 61k $306k (exactly $306,136) Alex Grade, gonzeek, Oxeren
The Dark Rites of Arkham $14.99 655 97% 20k $295k (exactly $294,554) Postmodern Adventures

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