Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Shooter?

Shooter + Hidden Object

Of 65 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Shooter 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×166 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 90 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $1.5k → $898 → $449 → $1.2k → $449 → $599 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,369)
Top 5% $104k (exactly $104,374)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 217
Announced 90
Effort 6 / 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 up 90% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
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, Atmospheric
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 78% positive over 2,507 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 $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
35MM older $8.99 3,508 71% 105k $946k (exactly $946,108) Носков Сергей
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Prehistoric Hunt · EA older $17.99 678 84% 20k $366k (exactly $365,917) Antiproto Studios
Disassembly 3D older $29.99 309 81% 9.3k $278k (exactly $278,007) Khor Chin Heong
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Panoptic older $16.99 281 96% 8.4k $143k (exactly $143,226) Team Panoptes
Disassembly VR older $29.99 157 59% 4.7k $141k (exactly $141,253) Khor Chin Heong
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
Schizo Dark $39.99 87 95% 2.6k $104k (exactly $104,374) Galactic Geckon
Devilated $19.99 163 85% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Trunka
Absolute-Full-Life $14.99 68 76% 2.0k $31k (exactly $30,580) The Only Way Out
Sniper Camouflage Orange Spy Warrior I Buried Two Bodies in the Garden and the Police Haven't Figured Out Yet That They're Missing Because They Were a Lonely Old Couple Who Had No Relatives Simulator 2026 · EA $9.99 77 66% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) The Only Way Out
Eyes Of The ElderWood · EA $12.99 26 96% 780 $10k (exactly $10,132) Virtual Sanctuary
Project Three · EA $7.99 39 23% 1.2k $9.3k (exactly $9,348) The Only Way Out
ESCAPE FROM TIMOKHA 2: ARMY $2.99 91 89% 2.7k $8.2k (exactly $8,163) Team GZ

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