Do I ship it?

GamesHidden ObjectHidden Object + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Western

Only 11 developers shipped a Western Hidden Object in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, DOOMED Detective Game, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 6 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $13k, ×22 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 6 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 6 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Hidden Object + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $13,630)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 26
Announced 6
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $2.99

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 70% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

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.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Western
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hidden Object
Price point
$2.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 7 games average 70% positive over 191 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 $480, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $13k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 6 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different setting or mood, 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
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Cave Digger 2 Dig Harder older $15.99 81 88% 2.4k $39k (exactly $38,856) VRKiwi
Cave Digger VR older $19.90 52 65% 1.6k $31k (exactly $31,044) VRKiwi
Cave Digger older $14.90 63 82% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,161) VRKiwi
DOOMED Detective Game $6.99 65 46% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,630) Azikton Studio
Cyber West: Hidden Object Games - Western older $8.99 35 74% 1.1k $9.4k (exactly $9,440) Crisp App Studio
Slap Village: Reality Slap older $2.99 104 79% 3.1k $9.3k (exactly $9,329) MonkeyToons
Hidden Cat Outlaws $2.99 82 87% 2.5k $7.4k (exactly $7,355) Sleepwalking Potatoes
Gold Rush! Classic older $2.99 77 87% 2.3k $6.9k (exactly $6,907) The Software Farm, Sunlight Games, Sier… (The Software Farm, Sunlight Games, Sierra Entertainment)
Cave Digger 2 older $14.99 14 64% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) VRKiwi
Fishing on the Fly $9.99 10 50% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Numicus Studios, MacClark.com
Mole or Not · EA $2.99 15 53% 450 $1.3k (exactly $1,346) EY GAMES
Cats Visiting Wild West $1.99 16 100% 480 $955 (exactly $955) AGE Zero, Purfect
Around the World 3: Amazing Countries Collector's Edition $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Avi Games
Art Spotting Co-op $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Musabiza
Where's Fido? $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Curioso Games Ltd
S.X.E. Slider: Hard Ridin' $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Slippery Snake Studios
Wanted: Dead Or Alive $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Team Axeta

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