Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Hidden Object?

PvP + Hidden Object

Of 58 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 101 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 101 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 30% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 101 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $124k → $1.6k → $955 → $1.0k → $269 → $807 → $1.3k (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,443)
Top 5% $125k (exactly $124,871)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 133
Announced 101
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 30% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Online Co-Op, Party Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, First-Person, 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 71% positive over 4,833 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $420, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 101 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Witch It older $19.99 14,540 89% 436k $8.7M (exactly $8,719,638) Barrel Roll Games
Neighbors: Suburban Warfare · EA $9.99 1,906 66% 57k $571k (exactly $571,228) Invisible Walls
Granny: Escape Together $9.99 1,661 79% 50k $498k (exactly $497,802) CreepyToad
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Peekaboo older $2.99 2,780 79% 83k $249k (exactly $249,366) Redaster Studio
Panoptic older $16.99 281 96% 8.4k $143k (exactly $143,226) Team Panoptes
Afterinfection $8.99 463 56% 14k $125k (exactly $124,871) RePatrick21
Dead District: Survival older $9.99 415 48% 12k $124k (exactly $124,376) BadBit Games
Goonya Monster older $19.99 185 76% 5.6k $111k (exactly $110,944) MUTAN
PropHunter · EA older $3.99 917 79% 28k $110k (exactly $109,765) Alone Fox Games
Moo Who? $6.99 174 66% 5.2k $36k (exactly $36,488) SAT Productions
SCRIBBLE HUNT $3.99 302 81% 9.1k $36k (exactly $36,149) SCRIBBLE BUNNY
Spider Roulette $4.99 143 91% 4.3k $21k (exactly $21,407) Kud
Lateral Thinking Together · EA $5.99 85 43% 2.6k $15k (exactly $15,274) PushForward
Mimicry! $9.99 45 97% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Wayward Skies Studio
Hide and Moo! $5.99 34 76% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Black Sea Studios
Money And Lady | 财貌双全 $9.99 20 35% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Happy DLC Studio

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