Do I ship it?

Games › Survival › Survival + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Survival game?

Survival + Hidden Object

Of 147 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Survival 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.. 197 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×166 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 197 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 197 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 147
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $1.9k → $2.7k → $2.2k → $987 → $599 → $958 (still earning) → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 147
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $958 (exactly $958)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,798)
Top 5% $104k (exactly $104,374)
Developers, 2 yr 147
Released games 461
Announced 197
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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Survival
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
Survival, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 6,782 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $960, 1 in 4 over $4.7k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 197 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Witch It 2020 · $8.7M Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M Russian Village Simulator 2023 · $800k Emissary Zero 2025 · $724k Granny: Escape Together 2024 · $498k
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
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
Russian Village Simulator older $29.99 889 84% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) VD Games, PropilGames
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
Granny: Escape Together $9.99 1,661 79% 50k $498k (exactly $497,802) CreepyToad
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
ABYSS OF THE SACRIFICE older $39.99 238 81% 7.1k $286k (exactly $285,529) INTENSE
Peekaboo older $2.99 2,780 79% 83k $249k (exactly $249,366) Redaster Studio
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Afterinfection $8.99 463 56% 14k $125k (exactly $124,871) RePatrick21
Space Accident VR $16.99 231 82% 6.9k $118k (exactly $117,741) VR-WRG
Forest Doesn’t Care $13.99 251 65% 7.5k $105k (exactly $105,345) MOROZ GAMES
Schizo Dark $39.99 87 95% 2.6k $104k (exactly $104,374) Galactic Geckon
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix

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