Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Puzzle Platformer?

Puzzle Platformer + Hidden Object

Of 144 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Puzzle Platformer 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.. 187 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $390 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 75 developers shipped in the last year and 187 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 187 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle Platformer + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 144
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $479 → $386 → $657 → $480 → $210 → $551 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle Platformer + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 144
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,317)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $14,390)
Developers, 2 yr 144
Released games 529
Announced 187
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Puzzle Platformer, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 936 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $14k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 116 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 187 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceFair41 devs · median $1.5k · 38 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  3. + Life SimFair20 devs · median $657 · 21 announced
  4. + SimulationFair216 devs · median $479 · 181 announced
  5. + Grid-Based MovementFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  6. + SokobanFair51 devs · median $358 · 49 announced
  7. + LovecraftianPoor odds11 devs · median $9.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  9. + MetroidvaniaPoor odds91 devs · median $5.3k · 264 announced
  10. + SwordplayPoor odds8 devs · median $4.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Split ScreenPoor odds24 devs · median $3.6k · 35 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds18 devs · median $3.0k · 80 announced

All 169 pairs on the Puzzle Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k Slice of Sea 2021 · $392k Torn Away 2023 · $268k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
The Gardens Between older $19.99 2,362 93% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) The Voxel Agents
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Slice of Sea older $24.99 523 90% 16k $392k (exactly $392,093) Mateusz Skutnik
Torn Away older $14.99 595 92% 18k $268k (exactly $267,572) perelesoq
Logiart Grimoire older $19.99 336 94% 10k $201k (exactly $201,499) Jupiter Corporation
My Beautiful Paper Smile older $14.99 353 82% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) Two Star Games
Piece by Piece $12.99 233 100% 7.0k $91k (exactly $90,800) Neon Polygons
Magic Tiny Lands $29.99 86 90% 2.6k $77k (exactly $77,374) Galactic Geckon
Nancy Drew®: The Shattered Medallion older $19.99 116 51% 3.5k $70k (exactly $69,565) HeR Interactive
OUTCLAW $24.99 44 93% 1.3k $33k (exactly $32,987) Moss Monkey
DEVIL'S WAY $4.99 208 45% 6.2k $31k (exactly $31,138) Rose Game Studio
Little Adventurer Treasure Hunt $3.99 185 100% 5.6k $22k (exactly $22,144) BIG EYES TATA
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Ghost Deliverer · EA $18.99 28 96% 840 $16k (exactly $15,952) TEAMDADA
Bubble Ghost Remake $14.99 32 100% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Nakama Game Studio
烧尾宴 $8.99 52 75% 1.6k $14k (exactly $14,024) 有点正经
Fire Hero - Pixel Rescue $9.99 37 97% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Ravenlore Studio

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