Do I ship it?

Games › Hidden Object › Hidden Object + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Puzzle game?

Hidden Object + Puzzle

Of 1,061 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Puzzle game 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.. 1,155 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $800, ×6.7 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 1,155 games are announced against 613 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 1,155 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hidden Object + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,061
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $1.9k → $1.1k → $1.5k → $898 → $802 → $748 (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hidden Object + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,061
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $802 (exactly $802)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 5% $74k (exactly $74,479)
Developers, 2 yr 1,061
Released games 4,340
Announced 1,155
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 35% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Hidden Object, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Point & Click
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 163,287 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $800, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 914 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,155 games are announced against 613 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hidden Object with a different second tag, 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

MiSide 2024 · $55M Fran Bow 2015 · $9.3M A Little to the Left 2022 · $7.6M TOEM: A Photo Adventure 2021 · $5.8M In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MiSide $14.99 122,007 97% 3.7M $55M (exactly $54,866,548) AIHASTO
Fran Bow older $14.99 20,579 97% 617k $9.3M (exactly $9,254,376) Killmonday Games AB
A Little to the Left older $14.99 16,885 91% 507k $7.6M (exactly $7,593,184) Max Inferno
TOEM: A Photo Adventure older $19.99 9,688 99% 291k $5.8M (exactly $5,809,894) Something We Made
In Sound Mind older $34.99 5,467 95% 164k $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) We Create Stuff
The Room 4: Old Sins older $8.99 17,806 98% 534k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,278) Fireproof Games
The Room older $4.99 30,421 97% 913k $4.6M (exactly $4,554,024) Fireproof Games
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
The House of Da Vinci older $19.99 6,710 85% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) Blue Brain Games
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise older $19.99 5,901 95% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,538,830) Yak & Co
Whisper of the House $14.99 5,344 96% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,403,197) 元气弹工作室(GD Studio)
Lost and Found Co. $17.99 2,736 96% 82k $1.5M (exactly $1,476,619) Bit Egg Inc.
The Artisan of Glimmith $12.99 2,513 97% 75k $979k (exactly $979,316) Lunarch Studios
Approximately Up $24.99 995 93% 30k $746k (exactly $745,952) Approximately Games
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy $39.99 526 90% 16k $631k (exactly $631,042) Microids Studio Paris
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Camper Van: Make it Home $14.99 1,150 91% 35k $517k (exactly $517,155) Malapata Studio

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