Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Roguelite?

Roguelite + Hidden Object

Of 31 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Roguelite 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.. 41 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 $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×430 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 41 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $958 → $3.9k → $1.2k → $4.6k → $179 → $1.3k → $3.8k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,396)
Top 5% $204k (exactly $204,139)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 76
Announced 41
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 75% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Roguelite
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
Roguelite, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Roguelike, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 2,643 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $720, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Take me, Vitaly $5.99 1,136 98% 34k $204k (exactly $204,139) Старый Билд
ReRoad older $14.99 104 74% 3.1k $47k (exactly $46,769) Rabbithole Games
Natsuno-Kanata: Beyond Summer older $10.99 127 91% 3.8k $42k (exactly $41,872) Kazuhide Oka
Cave Digger 2 Dig Harder older $15.99 81 88% 2.4k $39k (exactly $38,856) VRKiwi
Minesweeper: Collector older $7.99 132 88% 4.0k $32k (exactly $31,640) Anton Kryukov
Cave Digger older $14.90 63 82% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,161) VRKiwi
恶魔迷宫 2 |Evil Maze 2 | 惡魔迷宮 2 older $9.99 85 60% 2.6k $25k (exactly $25,474) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Spectro older $14.99 49 81% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Borrowed Light VR
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
Spectator 2 $12.99 33 72% 990 $13k (exactly $12,860) Neko Machine, Minechan
Atrium Mortis $7.99 36 100% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) Hectic
Money And Lady | 财貌双全 $9.99 20 35% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Happy DLC Studio
Death Sees Twice: Spot the Difference $2.99 64 81% 1.9k $5.7k (exactly $5,741) hirohasu
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
Scary Shadow Spot - All In $7.99 16 93% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Daniele Doesn't Matter

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