Games › Strategy › Strategy + Hidden Object
Should I ship a Hidden Object Strategy game?
Strategy + Hidden Object
Of 201 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Strategy 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.. 217 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $330 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 109 developers shipped in the last year and 217 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $327 (exactly $327) |
| Top 25% | $2.0k (exactly $1,970) |
| Top 5% | $42k (exactly $42,427) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 201 |
| Released games | 745 |
| Announced | 217 |
| 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 down 15% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy
- 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
- Strategy, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 10,097 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 154 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 217 games are announced against 109 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Witch It 2020 · $8.7M 
I Expect You To Die 2017 · $1.6M 
The Artisan of Glimmith 2026 · $979k 
Minami Lane 2024 · $912k 
Last Room 2021 · $857k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Witch It | older | $19.99 | 14,540 89% | 436k | $8.7M (exactly $8,719,638) | Barrel Roll Games |
| | I Expect You To Die | older | $24.99 | 2,169 95% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,626,099) | Schell Games |
| | The Artisan of Glimmith | $12.99 | 2,513 97% | 75k | $979k (exactly $979,316) | Lunarch Studios | |
| | Minami Lane | older | $4.99 | 6,089 97% | 183k | $912k (exactly $911,523) | Blibloop, Doot |
| | Last Room | older | $29.99 | 953 73% | 29k | $857k (exactly $857,414) | Quantum Forge Studios |
 | The Legend of Fancy Realm Remake | $24.99 | 897 86% | 27k | $672k (exactly $672,481) | USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd. | |
 | Ship, Inc. | $9.99 | 2,168 83% | 65k | $650k (exactly $649,750) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Sizeable | older | $6.99 | 3,093 97% | 93k | $649k (exactly $648,602) | Business Goose Studios |
 | The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition | $24.99 | 836 72% | 25k | $627k (exactly $626,749) | Blue Brain Games | |
 | Lost But Found | $6.99 | 2,316 71% | 69k | $486k (exactly $485,665) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Cozy Organizer | $7.99 | 649 67% | 19k | $156k (exactly $155,565) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Tech Blast | $39.99 | 90 92% | 2.7k | $108k (exactly $107,973) | Galactic Geckon | |
 | Airport X-Ray Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 253 80% | 7.6k | $99k (exactly $98,594) | Rainbow Lab |
 | Piece by Piece | $12.99 | 233 100% | 7.0k | $91k (exactly $90,800) | Neon Polygons | |
 | Frozen Ship | · EA | $19.99 | 142 76% | 4.3k | $85k (exactly $85,157) | Nionetix |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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