Do I ship it?

GamesRoguelikeRoguelike + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Roguelike?

Roguelike + Hidden Object

Of 38 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Roguelike 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×542 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 57 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 57 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $2.9k → $898 → $4.6k → $179 → $1.5k → $1.0k (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,613)
Top 5% $257k (exactly $257,302)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 107
Announced 57
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 45% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Roguelike
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
Roguelike, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Roguelite, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,963 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $600, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Dead Signal older $12.99 1,007 88% 30k $392k (exactly $392,428) Reflect Studios
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Dyping Escape $9.99 544 91% 16k $163k (exactly $163,037) Heaviside Creations
BodyRecords · EA $6.99 581 70% 17k $122k (exactly $121,836) MIROWIN
Dungeon Digger older $39.99 98 81% 2.9k $118k (exactly $117,571) Galactic Geckon
Wrong Bullet older $29.99 84 89% 2.5k $76k (exactly $75,575) Galactic Geckon
神椿學園新聞部(KAMITSUBAKI ACADEMY NEWSPAPER CLUB) $29.99 60 70% 1.8k $54k (exactly $53,982) KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO
恶魔迷宫 | Evil Maze older $1.99 807 76% 24k $48k (exactly $48,178) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Natsuno-Kanata: Beyond Summer older $10.99 127 91% 3.8k $42k (exactly $41,872) Kazuhide Oka
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
Dawg Game $3.99 104 98% 3.1k $12k (exactly $12,449) Big Noses Entertainment
Money And Lady | 财貌双全 $9.99 20 35% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Happy DLC Studio
Holy Grain $14.99 12 75% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Darkhunter Studios
Clueless Crew · EA $6.99 22 90% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) Ashkandi, Truthkey

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