Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Perma Death Hidden Object?
Perma Death + Hidden Object
Of 34 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 27 more are announced.
Verdict: long shot, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $24k, ×51 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 27 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $1.7k (exactly $1,731) |
| Top 5% | $24k (exactly $24,276) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 27 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Perma Death, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 589 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Dead Signal 2023 · $392k 
Spectator 2023 · $44k 
The Backrooms Project 2022 · EA · $32k 
Amber Alert 2024 · $29k 
False Dream 2024 · $28k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dead Signal | older | $12.99 | 1,007 88% | 30k | $392k (exactly $392,428) | Reflect Studios |
| | Spectator | older | $12.99 | 113 93% | 3.4k | $44k (exactly $44,036) | Minechan, Neko Machine |
| | The Backrooms Project | · EA older | $9.99 | 106 63% | 3.2k | $32k (exactly $31,768) | 3AM Studios |
| | Amber Alert | older | $4.99 | 192 63% | 5.8k | $29k (exactly $28,742) | MEATBREAD, VirtualVillain |
| | False Dream | older | $1.99 | 467 96% | 14k | $28k (exactly $27,880) | TenkaiGames |
 | Box of Broken Nails | $4.99 | 181 97% | 5.4k | $27k (exactly $27,096) | Cdodge, trushkeen | |
 | Sex Apartment 2: Grand Hotel | $9.99 | 81 71% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $24,276) | Dreamers Workshop | |
 | Sex Apartment 💫 | $4.99 | 150 62% | 4.5k | $22k (exactly $22,455) | Dreamers Workshop | |
 | Portobugia | older | $7.99 | 84 83% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $20,135) | Bogland Studio |
 | CRYODEATH VR | older | $24.99 | 21 85% | 630 | $16k (exactly $15,744) | Kerag Elisaar |
 | MiSa | $4.99 | 58 65% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) | Hero | |
 | The Memory Thieves | · EA | $6.99 | 40 80% | 1.2k | $8.4k (exactly $8,388) | Otherside Studio |
 | The Office Killer | $9.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | IceMoon Games | |
 | Galdia | · EA | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Shergaze Castle |
 | FM Skyline's "Reality" | $9.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) | FM Skyline, George Clanton | |
 | Tindark | $3.99 | 19 42% | 570 | $2.3k (exactly $2,274) | Hot Tea Works | |
 | Escape from Tung Tung Sahur | $1.99 | 29 62% | 870 | $1.7k (exactly $1,731) | Quad Labs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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