Do I ship it?

GamesResource ManagementResource Management + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Hidden Object

Of 62 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Resource Management game 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.. 83 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×208 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 83 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 83 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $3.3k → $1.5k → $599 → $1.3k → $538 (still earning) → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $7.1k (exactly $7,130)
Top 5% $99k (exactly $98,594)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 123
Announced 83
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Inventory Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,219 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
Minami Lane older $4.99 6,089 97% 183k $912k (exactly $911,523) Blibloop, Doot
Hero of the Kingdom older $7.99 3,574 94% 107k $857k (exactly $856,688) Lonely Troops
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Hero of the Kingdom II older $8.99 1,900 95% 57k $512k (exactly $512,430) Lonely Troops
Hero of the Kingdom III older $9.99 1,234 78% 37k $370k (exactly $369,830) Lonely Troops
Center Station Simulator · EA older $19.99 554 87% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Nightmare Phoenix
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 older $6.99 1,044 91% 31k $219k (exactly $218,927) Lonely Troops
12 Labours of Hercules II: The Cretan Bull older $2.99 1,736 90% 52k $156k (exactly $155,719) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 3 $6.99 476 91% 14k $100k (exactly $99,817) Lonely Troops
Airport X-Ray Simulator · EA $12.99 253 80% 7.6k $99k (exactly $98,594) Rainbow Lab
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
LAN Party Adventures $14.99 93 89% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) LEAP Game Studios
Konbini Cleanup $5.99 150 94% 4.5k $27k (exactly $26,955) Cleanup Crew!
Twilight Tails $16.99 43 51% 1.3k $22k (exactly $21,917) Prokopchuk Pavlo
Dreadway $6.99 101 67% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) ZweiBier Indie

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