Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Point & Click Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Point & Click

Of 114 developers who shipped a Point & Click Action-Adventure 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.. 165 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 165 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 165 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 114
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $1.8k → $1.3k → $809 → $478 → $1.7k → $359 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 114
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,755)
Top 5% $58k (exactly $57,542)
Developers, 2 yr 114
Released games 428
Announced 165
Effort 6 / 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 down 10% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure, Point & Click; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Atmospheric
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 83% positive over 8,001 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $420, 1 in 4 over $5.7k, 1 in 20 over $57k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 165 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chants of Sennaar older $19.99 30,416 98% 912k $18M (exactly $18,240,475) Rundisc
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter older $29.99 12,076 80% 362k $11M (exactly $10,864,777) Frogwares
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective older $29.99 6,429 97% 193k $5.8M (exactly $5,784,171) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies $39.99 2,911 83% 87k $3.5M (exactly $3,492,327) ZA/UM
Beacon Pines older $19.99 3,054 97% 92k $1.8M (exactly $1,831,484) Hiding Spot
We. The Revolution older $19.99 1,997 73% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,197,601) Polyslash
SHUTEN ORDER $49.99 712 80% 21k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) Neilo Inc.
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases older $19.99 1,168 76% 35k $700k (exactly $700,450) Blazing Griffin
BROK the InvestiGator older $19.99 985 97% 30k $591k (exactly $590,704) COWCAT
Erica older $11.99 1,629 78% 49k $586k (exactly $585,951) Flavourworks
Last Report $4.99 2,423 89% 73k $363k (exactly $362,723) Monopixel Games
Philna Fantasy $14.99 477 52% 14k $215k (exactly $214,507) Sailike Game
House 2 $19.99 154 89% 4.6k $92k (exactly $92,354) Bark Bark Games
Queen's Brothel $9.99 192 84% 5.8k $58k (exactly $57,542) Deep Games LLC
Goth Obsession: Touch Adventure $2.99 560 81% 17k $50k (exactly $50,232) Mora the Goth Girl
Panelak $6.99 238 91% 7.1k $50k (exactly $49,909) Pajos games
Pirates: Golden tits: Chapter 1 $9.99 153 80% 4.6k $46k (exactly $45,854) HotBunny
Crabmeat $7.99 181 86% 5.4k $43k (exactly $43,386) Nicholas McDonnell, Mitchell Pasmans

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