Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Underwater
Should I ship an Underwater Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Underwater
Of 21 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 19 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $450. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 19 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 5% | $11k (exactly $10,893) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 19 |
| 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 up 80% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
- Underwater
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $4.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $4.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 279 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 10 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
- + Word GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden 2014 · $371k 
Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 2023 · $99k 
Kingdom of Wreck Business 2023 · $38k 
Arctic Anxiety 2020 · EA · $26k 
TARO IS BACK 2026 · $20k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden | older | $14.99 | 826 89% | 25k | $371k (exactly $371,452) | Artifex Mundi |
| | Verne: The Shape of Fantasy | older | $14.99 | 221 82% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $99,384) | Gametopia |
| | Kingdom of Wreck Business | older | $9.99 | 127 31% | 3.8k | $38k (exactly $38,062) | WarZoneLab |
| | Arctic Anxiety | · EA older | $2.99 | 285 55% | 8.6k | $26k (exactly $25,565) | Arctic Studio |
| | TARO IS BACK | $15.00 | 44 84% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,800) | BeforeHomeWorks | |
 | 100 hidden fish | older | $0.99 | 499 95% | 15k | $15k (exactly $14,820) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh, Аlexandr Telminov |
 | 100 hidden turtles | older | $0.99 | 462 95% | 14k | $14k (exactly $13,721) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh |
 | Bottle Can Float | $3.99 | 91 89% | 2.7k | $11k (exactly $10,893) | Kayla.Z | |
 | Jewel Match Aquascapes 2 Collector's Edition | older | $13.99 | 18 88% | 540 | $7.6k (exactly $7,555) | Suricate Software |
 | Moose Diver | $4.99 | 48 83% | 1.4k | $7.2k (exactly $7,186) | Lingon Studios | |
 | Aquarium at August 32nd | $3.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $3.7k (exactly $3,711) | Vice Inc. | |
 | Submeris | $4.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | OxygenStudio | |
 | AquaDream | $4.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | Gossiam Games | |
 | Undefined Survivors -アンディファインド サバイバーズ- | · EA | $29.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Runpath Inc. |
 | Jellies of the Deep | $5.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) | Catloaf Studio | |
 | DEEPLY | · EA | $2.99 | 14 35% | 420 | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) | TWEN |
 | FIRE The First Dreamer | $19.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | SIC Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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