Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Point & Click game?

Building + Point & Click

Of 78 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 103 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×399 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 103 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 103 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 78
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $770 → $1.3k → $1.2k → $9.3k → $2.9k → $1.5k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 78
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 25% $9.3k (exactly $9,281)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,801)
Developers, 2 yr 78
Released games 227
Announced 103
Effort 5 / 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 up 40% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 13,442 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $9.2k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

LEGO® Builder's Journey 2021 · $2.4M Digseum 2024 · $721k Hidden Through Time 2020 · $673k Birdwatching Notebook 2026 · $476k The Executive - Movie Industry Tycoon 2025 · $465k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LEGO® Builder's Journey older $19.99 4,041 82% 121k $2.4M (exactly $2,423,388) Light Brick Studio
Digseum $2.99 8,033 97% 241k $721k (exactly $720,560) Rat Monthly
Hidden Through Time older $7.99 2,807 93% 84k $673k (exactly $672,838) Rogueside
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
The Executive - Movie Industry Tycoon $14.99 1,034 80% 31k $465k (exactly $464,990) Aniki Games
Plantera older $2.99 4,518 88% 136k $405k (exactly $405,265) VaragtP
Capybara Spa older $7.99 1,345 94% 40k $322k (exactly $322,396) Cozy Bee Games
Fracture Field $6.99 1,196 75% 36k $251k (exactly $250,801) Type Ten
Game Corp DX older $2.99 2,712 87% 81k $243k (exactly $243,266) Endless Loop Studios
12 Labours of Hercules older $2.99 2,307 93% 69k $207k (exactly $206,938) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
Midori no Kaori $9.99 464 94% 14k $139k (exactly $139,061) TheLaba
Whimsy Bake＆Craft $7.99 357 64% 11k $86k (exactly $85,573) MOON SCAPE
Desk Paws $5.99 463 86% 14k $83k (exactly $83,201) GinkgoGames
Fable Hospital $24.99 82 75% 2.5k $61k (exactly $61,475) AMGames TC
NAMAKORIUM (ナマコリウム) $11.99 148 93% 4.4k $53k (exactly $53,236) Polyscape Inc.
Mech Builder 3D $14.99 77 93% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Don Pachi

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