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Should I ship a Word Game Hidden Object?
Hidden Object + Word Game
Of 29 developers who shipped a Word Game 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.. 26 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×10 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $210. Revenue is up 690% on the market; 26 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $2.2k (exactly $2,155) |
| Top 5% | $45k (exactly $45,169) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 26 |
| Effort | 2 / 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 up 690% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Word Game
- effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Hidden Object, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.00 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.00 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,348 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
- + Point & ClickFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
Influent Language Learning Game 2014 · $584k 
灵墟 2023 · $312k 
Logiart Grimoire 2024 · $201k 
The Apothecary of Trubiz 2025 · $64k 
Ghostwriter Workshop 2025 · $45k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Influent Language Learning Game | older | $19.99 | 973 73% | 29k | $584k (exactly $583,508) | Rob Howland |
| | 灵墟 | older | $10.99 | 946 86% | 28k | $312k (exactly $311,896) | HappyTall Game |
| | Logiart Grimoire | older | $19.99 | 336 94% | 10k | $201k (exactly $201,499) | Jupiter Corporation |
| | The Apothecary of Trubiz | $3.99 | 536 94% | 16k | $64k (exactly $64,159) | kinjo, Image Labo | |
| | Ghostwriter Workshop | $10.99 | 137 94% | 4.1k | $45k (exactly $45,169) | 秘密結社マテンロウ計画, Studio Dragonet | |
 | Deduce Together | $5.99 | 217 68% | 6.5k | $39k (exactly $38,995) | PushForward | |
 | Little Adventurer Treasure Hunt | $3.99 | 185 100% | 5.6k | $22k (exactly $22,144) | BIG EYES TATA | |
 | I live under your house. | older | $1.99 | 305 80% | 9.2k | $18k (exactly $18,208) | SpoocleMacBoogle |
 | LiveStream: Chapter One | $7.00 | 77 89% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $16,170) | Artflux_Games | |
 | Lateral Thinking Together | · EA | $5.99 | 85 43% | 2.6k | $15k (exactly $15,274) | PushForward |
 | Dingir OS | $4.99 | 60 85% | 1.8k | $9.0k (exactly $8,982) | SpoocleMacBoogle | |
 | На недельку до второго | $4.99 | 26 100% | 780 | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) | UrbanWanderer | |
 | Text Escape: Doomsday City | $3.99 | 18 61% | 540 | $2.2k (exactly $2,155) | 齿轮游戏 | |
 | Jixo 5: Mask Parade Collector’s Edition | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | MixoGames Ltd. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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