Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Noir

Of 50 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 63 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 63 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 63 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $1.2k → $1.4k → $1.6k → $1.3k → $718 → $1.5k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,284)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,065)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 147
Announced 63
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 140% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Noir
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 Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,643 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $960, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 33 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

Batman - The Telltale Series 2016 · $6.8M IMMORTALITY 2022 · $1.1M Chicken Police - Paint it RED! 2020 · $974k Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders 2016 · $916k Confidential Killings - A Detective Game 2026 · $322k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Batman - The Telltale Series older $14.99 15,060 87% 452k $6.8M (exactly $6,772,482) Telltale
IMMORTALITY older $19.99 1,768 84% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! older $19.99 1,624 94% 49k $974k (exactly $973,913) The Wild Gentlemen
Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders older $14.99 2,037 80% 61k $916k (exactly $916,039) Artefacts Studio
Confidential Killings - A Detective Game $14.99 716 76% 21k $322k (exactly $321,985) BRANE, Lorenzo Boni
The 7th Guest Remake $19.99 241 86% 7.2k $145k (exactly $144,528) Vertigo Games, Exkee
Inspector Waffles older $12.99 223 95% 6.7k $87k (exactly $86,903) Goloso Games
Noir Chronicles: City of Crime older $14.99 121 62% 3.6k $54k (exactly $54,414) Brave Giant LTD
Omen Exitio: Hunger $9.99 117 88% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Tiny Bull Studios
Case Solved: The London Files $9.99 107 65% 3.2k $32k (exactly $32,068) Minimol Games
Ghost Frequency $4.99 133 66% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,910) PIT GAMES
Scary Shadow Spot - Last Farewell $9.99 50 96% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Daniele Doesn't Matter
Au Revoir $4.99 92 95% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Invisible Studio
DOOMED Detective Game $6.99 65 46% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,630) Azikton Studio
Detective INNA DUKE $5.99 62 100% 1.9k $11k (exactly $11,141) HmarkaTeam
Dingir OS $4.99 60 85% 1.8k $9.0k (exactly $8,982) SpoocleMacBoogle

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