Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Tactical game?

Tactical + Hidden Object

Of 32 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Tactical 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.. 49 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×179 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 49 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 49 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $269 → $5.4k → $0 → $1.1k → $478 → $4.1k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 5% $113k (exactly $112,672)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 85
Announced 49
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 350% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Tactical
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
Tactical, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Collectathon, Puzzle, Simulation
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 25,327 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
Shelves and Sorcery: Tidy Up the Enchanted Shop $5.99 627 93% 19k $113k (exactly $112,672) Teddy Bear Games LLC
Era of Miracles older $29.99 106 75% 3.2k $95k (exactly $95,368) Argentum Gaming
ReRoad older $14.99 104 74% 3.1k $47k (exactly $46,769) Rabbithole Games
Kingdom of Wreck Business older $9.99 127 31% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,062) WarZoneLab
Car Drive older $44.99 14 64% 420 $19k (exactly $18,896) kovalevviktor
Vandals older $4.99 81 76% 2.4k $12k (exactly $12,126) Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE F… (Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE France)
Pixel Pirate older $24.99 14 78% 420 $10k (exactly $10,496) Stas Paty9mkin
Seven Doors older $4.99 70 64% 2.1k $10k (exactly $10,479) Indigo Studios - Interactive Stories
Halt older $4.99 60 70% 1.8k $9.0k (exactly $8,982) Nightmare Ink Publishing
FolkOrigin $7.99 36 88% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) LukaszD
Schoolgirl Card Pull Simulator $6.99 34 61% 1.0k $7.1k (exactly $7,130) Violet Soft
The Legend of Shiande $2.99 46 100% 1.4k $4.1k (exactly $4,126) Thales Caus
Post Office: Tidy Up! $4.99 26 80% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) Mao Den Games
Drag'N Dungeon $9.99 11 90% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Demon Girl
Package Piles: Tidy Up The Warehouse! $4.99 22 95% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) Spectra Forge
Doggy Up! $3.99 20 90% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) Feas
Snemovna · EA $7.99 8 100% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Richard Haraším

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