Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Crime

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crime Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Crime

Of 94 developers who shipped a Crime 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.. 185 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $650k, ×1041 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 185 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 185 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Crime
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 94
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $2.2k → $3.6k → $13k → $1.5k → $1.6k → $8.2k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Crime: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 94
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,525)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,411)
Top 5% $654k (exactly $653,577)
Developers, 2 yr 94
Released games 341
Announced 185
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 15% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Crime
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
Point & Click; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Investigation, Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 12,689 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 $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $650k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy older $29.99 35,628 97% 1.1M $32M (exactly $32,054,512) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter older $29.99 12,076 80% 362k $11M (exactly $10,864,777) Frogwares
Murdered: Soul Suspect older $19.99 12,051 87% 362k $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) Airtight Games
Unheard - Voices of Crime older $6.99 30,978 95% 929k $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) NEXT Studios
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments older $29.99 7,130 89% 214k $6.4M (exactly $6,414,861) Frogwares
The Case of the Golden Idol older $17.99 9,794 97% 294k $5.3M (exactly $5,285,822) Color Gray Games
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy older $49.99 3,261 88% 98k $4.9M (exactly $4,890,522) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection older $39.99 3,401 96% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,080,180) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Tangle Tower older $19.99 6,483 94% 194k $3.9M (exactly $3,887,855) SFB Games
The Operator older $13.99 8,515 91% 255k $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) Bureau 81
The Rise of the Golden Idol $19.99 3,786 92% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,464) Color Gray Games
The Mermaid Mask $19.99 2,776 99% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,664,767) SFB Games
Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest $24.99 922 89% 28k $691k (exactly $691,223) Team Tetrapod
Trials of Innocence $16.99 1,308 91% 39k $667k (exactly $666,688) 猫龙游戏
Loco Motive $17.99 1,211 92% 36k $654k (exactly $653,577) Robust Games
The Posthumous Investigation $19.99 554 94% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Mother Gaia Studio
The Endless Abyss: A Busty Cop’s Corrupted Soul $12.99 683 71% 20k $266k (exactly $266,165) GiraffeLiam
Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! $19.99 374 80% 11k $224k (exactly $224,288) The Wild Gentlemen
Alex Hill: Whispers at White Oak Inn $19.99 373 93% 11k $224k (exactly $223,688) hannahontrek
Parallel Experiment $9.99 702 84% 21k $210k (exactly $210,389) Eleven Puzzles

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