Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Hidden Object
Puzzle + Hidden Object: a typical launch earns $642 in its first year
That is the median of 528 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 1,017 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 44.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 4% on the year before: 620 against 598.
- Price
- $642 median of 528 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −25.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 620 598 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 734 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,702 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.28%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.19% to 0.38% | 49 ranked of 734 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #808 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.38xhits against expected | 0.27x to 0.55x | 1,017 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,760 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +31%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +19% to +46% | 161 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #472 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | 0%review growth against same-age games | −6% to +6% | 161 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #840 of 2,461pairs on this board |
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 1,017
- Hit rate
- 1.5%0.7% to 2.9%
- Expected rate
- 4.3%
- Against expected
- 0.38x0.27x to 0.55x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
1,017 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $0
- Median
- $607
- Top tenth
- $6,191
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +4%
- Against Steam
- −24%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Hidden ObjectGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! (opens the Steam store)2026 · 25,011 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.9M
Whisper of the House (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,391 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.4M
Boxes: Lost Fragments (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,254 reviews, 92% positiveest. $946k
Lost and Found Co. (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,776 reviews, 96% positiveest. $890k
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,089 reviews, 82% positiveest. $882k
The Artisan of Glimmith (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,584 reviews, 97% positiveest. $615k
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 843 reviews, 72% positiveest. $427k
Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy (opens the Steam store)2025 · 526 reviews, 90% positiveest. $426k
More with Puzzle
pairs with Puzzle- Puzzle + Open World$3,68033 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Puzzle$2,32437 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Visual Novel$2,10397 launches priced, 167 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Story Rich$2,000292 launches priced, 408 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Co-op$1,92037 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
More with Hidden Object
pairs with Hidden Object- Hidden Object + Detective$1,18352 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- Hidden Object + Story Rich$1,155101 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Hidden Object + Visual Novel$1,05038 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Hidden Object + Creature Collector$92239 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Hidden Object + Funny$88938 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Hidden Object + Cats$865105 launches priced, 132 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.