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Should I ship a Hidden Object Visual Novel?
Hidden Object + Visual Novel
Of 148 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Visual Novel 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.. 204 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×15 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×970 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 204 games are announced against 78 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $8,982) |
| Top 5% | $115k (exactly $115,477) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 148 |
| Released games | 512 |
| Announced | 204 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Hidden Object, Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Point & Click, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 5,784 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 95 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 204 games are announced against 78 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hidden Object with a different second tag, 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
Batman - The Telltale Series 2016 · $6.8M 
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express 2023 · $1.3M 
Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer 2022 · $1.1M 
IMMORTALITY 2022 · $1.1M 
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! 2020 · $974k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman - The Telltale Series | older | $14.99 | 15,060 87% | 452k | $6.8M (exactly $6,772,482) | Telltale |
| | Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express | older | $39.99 | 1,080 82% | 32k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,676) | Microids Studio Lyon |
| | Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer | older | $19.99 | 1,809 93% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) | Elf, Shiravune |
| | IMMORTALITY | older | $19.99 | 1,768 84% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid |
| | Chicken Police - Paint it RED! | older | $19.99 | 1,624 94% | 49k | $974k (exactly $973,913) | The Wild Gentlemen |
 | 35MM | older | $8.99 | 3,508 71% | 105k | $946k (exactly $946,108) | Носков Сергей |
 | Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders | older | $14.99 | 2,037 80% | 61k | $916k (exactly $916,039) | Artefacts Studio |
 | Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases | older | $19.99 | 1,168 76% | 35k | $700k (exactly $700,450) | Blazing Griffin |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Spooky Milk Life | · EA | $11.99 | 1,216 74% | 36k | $437k (exactly $437,395) | MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo |
 | Foolish Mortals | $19.99 | 663 94% | 20k | $398k (exactly $397,601) | Inklingwood Studios | |
 | Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile | $39.99 | 221 78% | 6.6k | $265k (exactly $265,134) | Microids Studio Lyon | |
 | Hotel Tales | $14.99 | 455 80% | 14k | $205k (exactly $204,614) | TopHouse Studio | |
 | Leila | $11.99 | 551 86% | 17k | $198k (exactly $198,195) | Ubik Studios | |
 | DDinosaur with Double D's | $6.99 | 771 97% | 23k | $162k (exactly $161,679) | Kud | |
 | 夏目友人帳 ～葉月の記～ | $49.99 | 77 80% | 2.3k | $115k (exactly $115,477) | Toydium | |
 | Real Feel | $19.99 | 170 64% | 5.1k | $102k (exactly $101,949) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Chicken Hill | $2.99 | 1,134 99% | 34k | $102k (exactly $101,720) | 梗立游戏 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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