Mysterious Story: Hidden Object Search

What the talk is about

Olga Maksina reviews the history and outlook of hidden object games in free-to-play, drawing on five years on one project and her market research. She traces the path from casual adventure games on portals to hybrids with social mechanics, then to story-driven series with energy, time-limited events, mini-events, co-op and battle passes. She also shows how match-3 games with story and decoration influenced the genre. In her view success rests on balance, steady content updates and monetization, while the niche of games built on the "Mystery Manor" formula is crowded. Her forecast: the genre needs a new meta layer, fresh search mechanics and new ways to use found items, plus decoration and VIP offers. Useful for producers and designers working on casual hidden object games.