Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Thriller
Of 237 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 233 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×88 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 233 games are announced against 124 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $5.5k (exactly $5,539) |
| Top 5% | $42k (exactly $41,822) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 237 |
| Released games | 551 |
| Announced | 233 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Walking Simulator
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Realistic
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 127,836 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 141 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 233 games are announced against 124 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Level EditorFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + DogsFair
- + RomanceFair
- + FlightFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + SimulationFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Word GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M 
The Room Two 2016 · $3.2M 
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express 2023 · $1.3M 
The Bunker 2016 · $739k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | The Mortuary Assistant | older | $24.99 | 7,269 92% | 218k | $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) | DarkStone Digital |
| | The Room Two | older | $4.99 | 21,056 97% | 632k | $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) | Fireproof Games |
| | Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express | older | $39.99 | 1,080 82% | 32k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) | Microids Studio Lyon |
| | The Bunker | older | $14.99 | 1,644 69% | 49k | $739k (exactly $739,307) | Splendy Interactive, Wales Interactive |
 | Granny: Escape Together | $9.99 | 1,661 79% | 50k | $498k (exactly $497,802) | CreepyToad | |
 | Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | $39.99 | 262 54% | 7.9k | $314k (exactly $314,321) | Big Bad Wolf | |
 | Dollmare | $4.99 | 2,045 94% | 61k | $306k (exactly $306,136) | Alex Grade, gonzeek, Oxeren | |
 | True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 1 | older | $8.99 | 1,108 92% | 33k | $299k (exactly $298,828) | Goblinz Enterprises Ltd |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
 | Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 | $7.99 | 533 98% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,760) | NovaSoft Interactive Ltd. | |
 | Japan Stigmatized Property -日本事故物件監視協会- | $7.99 | 360 74% | 11k | $86k (exactly $86,292) | 日本事故物件監視協会 | |
 | The Apocalypse Sacrifice | $9.99 | 223 95% | 6.7k | $67k (exactly $66,833) | FOG GAMES | |
 | Secrets of Blackrock Manor - Escape Room | $9.99 | 222 80% | 6.7k | $67k (exactly $66,533) | Biri Biri | |
 | LiDAR Exploration Program | $5.99 | 302 90% | 9.1k | $54k (exactly $54,269) | KenForest |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.