Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Psychological Horror

Of 542 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 497 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 497 games are announced against 309 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 497 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 542
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $2.1k → $2.9k → $2.2k → $1.4k → $891 → $898 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 542
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $3,956)
Top 5% $54k (exactly $54,269)
Developers, 2 yr 542
Released games 1,256
Announced 497
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 down 25% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Psychological Horror
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
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 96% positive over 136,112 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $990, 1 in 4 over $3.9k, 1 in 20 over $54k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 290 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 497 games are announced against 309 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

MiSide 2024 · $55M Fran Bow 2015 · $9.3M In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M The Room Two 2016 · $3.2M The Room Three 2018 · $2.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MiSide $14.99 122,007 97% 3.7M $55M (exactly $54,866,548) AIHASTO
Fran Bow older $14.99 20,579 97% 617k $9.3M (exactly $9,254,376) Killmonday Games AB
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
The Room Two older $4.99 21,056 97% 632k $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) Fireproof Games
The Room Three older $5.99 12,997 95% 390k $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) Fireproof Games
The Silent Age older $9.99 5,966 93% 179k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) House On Fire
Birth older $10.99 4,003 95% 120k $1.3M (exactly $1,319,789) Madison Karrh
Rusty Lake: Roots older $3.99 8,398 97% 252k $1.0M (exactly $1,005,241) Rusty Lake
35MM older $8.99 3,508 71% 105k $946k (exactly $946,108) Носков Сергей
Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders older $14.99 2,037 80% 61k $916k (exactly $916,039) Artefacts Studio
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
Granny: Escape Together $9.99 1,661 79% 50k $498k (exactly $497,802) CreepyToad
Slender Threads $19.99 574 90% 17k $344k (exactly $344,228) Blyts
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
Ghost Janitors $9.99 917 87% 28k $275k (exactly $274,825) Interactive Wave Studio
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
SchoolBoy Runaway $1.99 3,731 90% 112k $223k (exactly $222,741) Linked Squad

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