Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Sci-fi

Of 123 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 165 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 66 developers shipped in the last year and 165 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 165 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 123
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $2.5k → $537 → $628 → $2.0k → $240 → $269 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 123
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.8k (exactly $2,844)
Top 5% $99k (exactly $98,950)
Developers, 2 yr 123
Released games 387
Announced 165
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 70% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 3,022 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 165 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds17 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  2. + Level EditorFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair46 devs · median $3.5k · 41 announced
  4. + CatsFair128 devs · median $1.5k · 160 announced
  5. + DogsFair35 devs · median $1.5k · 18 announced
  6. + RomanceFair60 devs · median $1.5k · 48 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  8. + City BuilderFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  9. + SimulationFair475 devs · median $1.2k · 555 announced
  10. + UnderwaterFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 19 announced
  11. + Word GameFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair470 devs · median $1.2k · 502 announced

All 188 pairs on the Hidden Object page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Deponia 2012 · $3.1M The Silent Age 2015 · $1.8M Syberia 2011 · $1.5M Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer 2022 · $1.1M 35MM 2016 · $946k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deponia older $9.99 10,455 87% 314k $3.1M (exactly $3,133,364) Daedalic Entertainment
The Silent Age older $9.99 5,966 93% 179k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) House On Fire
Syberia older $12.99 3,919 89% 118k $1.5M (exactly $1,527,234) Microids
Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer older $19.99 1,809 93% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) Elf, Shiravune
35MM older $8.99 3,508 71% 105k $946k (exactly $946,108) Носков Сергей
The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day older $9.99 1,680 76% 50k $503k (exactly $503,496) ComonGames
FORM older $14.99 957 90% 29k $430k (exactly $430,363) Charm Games
The Eyes of Ara older $14.99 766 82% 23k $344k (exactly $344,470) 100 Stones Interactive
√Letter - Root Letter - older $19.99 551 78% 17k $330k (exactly $330,435) DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss $39.99 262 54% 7.9k $314k (exactly $314,321) Big Bad Wolf
Elroy and the Aliens $17.99 463 97% 14k $250k (exactly $249,881) Motiviti
Machinika: Atlas $11.99 574 76% 17k $206k (exactly $206,468) Littlefield Studio
BLACKSHARD $14.99 432 91% 13k $194k (exactly $194,270) Redlock Studio, Enclave
A Planet Full of Cats $7.99 581 89% 17k $139k (exactly $139,266) Devcats
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Looking For Fael $19.99 165 98% 5.0k $99k (exactly $98,950) Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire,… (Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire, ARTE France)
Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room $12.99 191 81% 5.7k $74k (exactly $74,433) mc2games
60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room $7.99 153 82% 4.6k $37k (exactly $36,674) mc2games
Voxelgram 2 $9.99 111 85% 3.3k $33k (exactly $33,267) Procedural Level

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