Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Hidden Object?

Hidden Object + Zombies

Of 56 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 54 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×349 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 54 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 54 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.5k → $2.6k → $3.7k → $807 → $2.4k → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $297 (exactly $297)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $4.4k (exactly $4,404)
Top 5% $219k (exactly $219,454)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 162
Announced 54
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 115% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

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
Zombies
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 3,237 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $750, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

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

Echoes of the Living 2025 · EA · $753k Lunar Eclipse 2025 · EA · $344k LIFE EFFECT Survival 2026 · EA · $219k Afterinfection 2025 · $125k Dead District: Survival 2023 · $124k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Lunar Eclipse · EA $14.99 765 82% 23k $344k (exactly $344,020) Black Rabbit's Tales
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Afterinfection $8.99 463 56% 14k $125k (exactly $124,871) RePatrick21
Dead District: Survival older $9.99 415 48% 12k $124k (exactly $124,376) BadBit Games
Goonya Monster older $19.99 185 76% 5.6k $111k (exactly $110,944) MUTAN
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Abyss School older $3.99 824 91% 25k $99k (exactly $98,633) eTIRUe
Mysteries of the Undead older $14.99 117 62% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) GO! Games
To The Light older $8.99 118 42% 3.5k $32k (exactly $31,825) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Mortanis Prisoners $12.99 70 80% 2.1k $27k (exactly $27,279) Alexey Bulgakov, Vladimir Zlobin
The Devil is in the Details $12.99 58 98% 1.7k $23k (exactly $22,603) HideWorks
Hidden Cats in Spooky Village $4.99 76 100% 2.3k $11k (exactly $11,377) Nukearts Studio
Project Three · EA $7.99 39 23% 1.2k $9.3k (exactly $9,348) The Only Way Out
The Living Shadows $17.99 15 53% 450 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Chilling Designs

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