Do I ship it?

GamesHidden ObjectHidden Object + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Tabletop

Of 25 developers who shipped a Tabletop 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.. 13 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $390 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 13 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 13 announced, ×0.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $2.2k → $359 → $449 → $0 → $564 → $0 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 5% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 239
Announced 13
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Hidden Object, Tabletop; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Puzzle, Board Game
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Hand-drawn
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 550 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $150, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $5.9k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different second tag, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
I'm on Observation Duty 5 older $9.99 775 96% 23k $232k (exactly $232,268) Notovia
I'm on Observation Duty 4 older $4.99 787 96% 24k $118k (exactly $117,814) Notovia
Mahjong World Contest (麻将) older $14.99 193 88% 5.8k $87k (exactly $86,792) Creobit
Pic-Me! $6.99 359 83% 11k $75k (exactly $75,282) GoofGames
Zup! Q older $1.99 798 96% 24k $48k (exactly $47,641) Quiet River
Shunga Frame older $5.99 84 77% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Nimos Games
SEARCH ALL - ADULT older $9.99 49 67% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Island Cities - Jigsaw Puzzle older $1.99 214 95% 6.4k $13k (exactly $12,776) Mens Sana Interactive
Futanari Tales 💕🔞 older $5.99 69 63% 2.1k $12k (exactly $12,399) Futanari Tales Games
Furry Futa 💘 older $5.99 66 63% 2.0k $12k (exactly $11,860) Furry Futa Games
Money And Lady | 财貌双全 $9.99 20 35% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Happy DLC Studio
Hidden Kittens: Kingdom of Cats $1.99 53 100% 1.6k $3.2k (exactly $3,164) Pinel Games
Coloring Cats: Sports With Friends $1.99 38 97% 1.1k $2.3k (exactly $2,269) Mens Sana Interactive
Shapes of Memory: Jigsaw Puzzle $3.99 13 100% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) Creative Hand, Abyssal Studios
Hentai Merge Dice $1.99 25 80% 750 $1.5k (exactly $1,492) theNeko
Mole or Not · EA $2.99 15 53% 450 $1.3k (exactly $1,346) EY GAMES
Diamond Painting $7.99 4 75% 120 $959 (exactly $959) LeiZna
Paironix $4.99 4 25% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Woobit
Hentai World Love $0.99 19 78% 570 $564 (exactly $564) CggtGroup

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