Games › Simulation › Simulation + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object Simulation game?
Simulation + Hidden Object
Of 475 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Simulation 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.. 555 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 555 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) |
| Top 5% | $94k (exactly $93,553) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 475 |
| Released games | 1,213 |
| Announced | 555 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 40% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 163,196 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 244 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 555 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
A Little to the Left 2022 · $7.6M 
The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M 
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! 2026 · $4.4M 
LEGO® Builder's Journey 2021 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | A Little to the Left | older | $14.99 | 16,885 91% | 507k | $7.6M (exactly $7,593,184) | Max Inferno |
| | The Mortuary Assistant | older | $24.99 | 7,269 92% | 218k | $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) | DarkStone Digital |
| | Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! | $5.99 | 24,497 94% | 735k | $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) | ArtRising | |
| | LEGO® Builder's Journey | older | $19.99 | 4,041 82% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,423,388) | Light Brick Studio |
 | Whisper of the House | $14.99 | 5,344 96% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,403,197) | 元气弹工作室(GD Studio) | |
 | I Expect You To Die | older | $24.99 | 2,169 95% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,626,099) | Schell Games |
 | Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express | older | $39.99 | 1,080 82% | 32k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) | Microids Studio Lyon |
 | Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer | older | $19.99 | 1,809 93% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) | Elf, Shiravune |
 | Minami Lane | older | $4.99 | 6,089 97% | 183k | $912k (exactly $911,523) | Blibloop, Doot |
 | Lushfoil Photography Sim | $14.99 | 1,718 91% | 52k | $773k (exactly $772,585) | Matt2 | |
 | Approximately Up | $24.99 | 995 93% | 30k | $746k (exactly $745,952) | Approximately Games | |
 | Ship, Inc. | $9.99 | 2,168 83% | 65k | $650k (exactly $649,750) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Lost But Found | $6.99 | 2,316 71% | 69k | $486k (exactly $485,665) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Organized Inside | $7.99 | 2,024 94% | 61k | $485k (exactly $485,153) | Meox Studio | |
 | My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All) ⭐ | $7.95 | 1,601 65% | 48k | $382k (exactly $381,838) | Polnoch |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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