Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Aliens

Of 48 developers who shipped an Alien Point & Click 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.. 60 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×264 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 60 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 60 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $269 → $270 → $802 → $958 → $10k → $599 (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $480 (exactly $480)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,472)
Top 5% $125k (exactly $125,431)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 135
Announced 60
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 30% on the market, supply 30% 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.

Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Incremental
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,663 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Point & Click with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair41 devs · median $8.4k · 45 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair50 devs · median $5.8k · 56 announced
  3. + Party-Based RPGFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  4. + Life SimFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  5. + Local MultiplayerFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  6. + MiningFair36 devs · median $1.9k · 39 announced
  7. + CookingFair68 devs · median $1.8k · 79 announced
  8. + Escape RoomFair62 devs · median $1.8k · 51 announced
  9. + UnderwaterFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 20 announced
  10. + Local Co-OpFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 9 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpFair28 devs · median $1.7k · 34 announced
  12. + Word GameFair60 devs · median $1.6k · 56 announced

All 200 pairs on the Point & Click page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STASIS: BONE TOTEM older $19.99 2,025 93% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) THE BROTHERHOOD
Insaniquarium Deluxe older $4.99 6,398 96% 192k $958k (exactly $957,781) PopCap Games, Inc.
In Other Waters older $14.99 2,093 88% 63k $941k (exactly $941,222) Jump Over The Age
HIVESWAP: ACT 1 older $7.99 3,113 94% 93k $746k (exactly $746,186) What Pumpkin Games, Inc.
Samorost 2 older $4.99 2,462 87% 74k $369k (exactly $368,561) Amanita Design
Machinika: Museum older $7.99 1,184 91% 36k $284k (exactly $283,805) Littlefield Studio
Polda 7 older $17.99 496 92% 15k $268k (exactly $267,691) Zima software
Unusual Findings older $19.99 426 87% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Epic Llama Games
Elroy and the Aliens $17.99 463 97% 14k $250k (exactly $249,881) Motiviti
The Dig® older $5.99 1,161 92% 35k $209k (exactly $208,632) LucasArts
Machinika: Atlas $11.99 574 76% 17k $206k (exactly $206,468) Littlefield Studio
Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite $5.99 698 83% 21k $125k (exactly $125,431) RyanJakob
Earth Must Die $15.99 238 85% 7.1k $114k (exactly $114,169) Size Five Games
Mosaic of the Strange $12.99 226 92% 6.8k $88k (exactly $88,072) Mark Ffrench
Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room $12.99 191 81% 5.7k $74k (exactly $74,433) mc2games
We Need More Humans! $6.99 142 72% 4.3k $30k (exactly $29,777) Seafront Games
These Darker Tides $7.99 76 90% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,217) Pixel Drip Games
Love at The Milky Way Diner · EA $13.99 25 100% 750 $10k (exactly $10,492) Lucky Kim, Emanuelle Heikens
Donutal $9.99 30 93% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Arc System Works

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