Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Point & Click CRPG?

CRPG + Point & Click

Of 31 developers who shipped a Point & Click CRPG 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $3.4M, ×2331 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 61 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $719 → $839 → $20k → $10k → $2.7k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,673)
Top 5% $3.5M (exactly $3,492,327)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 91
Announced 61
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 90% on the market, supply 145% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Funny, Hand-drawn
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 12,837 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $3.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut 2019 · $142M Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut 2023 · $17M Esoteric Ebb 2026 · $6.5M The Thaumaturge 2024 · $4.1M ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies 2026 · $3.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut older $39.99 118,124 92% 3.5M $142M (exactly $141,713,363) ZA/UM
Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut older $17.99 31,885 96% 957k $17M (exactly $17,208,334) Black Tabby Games
Esoteric Ebb $24.99 8,719 95% 262k $6.5M (exactly $6,536,634) Christoffer Bodegård
The Thaumaturge older $34.99 3,888 81% 117k $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) Fool's Theory
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies $39.99 2,911 83% 87k $3.5M (exactly $3,492,327) ZA/UM
Shadows Over Loathing older $22.99 3,120 95% 94k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) Asymmetric
ghostpia Season One older $19.99 871 92% 26k $522k (exactly $522,339) Chosuido, 超水道
Immortal Family older $13.99 1,213 54% 36k $509k (exactly $509,096) 一起来修仙工作室
Sovereign Syndicate older $19.99 573 79% 17k $344k (exactly $343,628) Crimson Herring Studios
CaseCracker3 $12.99 359 84% 11k $140k (exactly $139,902) BlackRobe
Legends of the Round Table $29.99 127 89% 3.8k $114k (exactly $114,262) Artifice Studio
Heroes of the Seven Islands $11.99 191 100% 5.7k $69k (exactly $68,703) Rap2h
Celestial Return $14.99 140 85% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,958) Metaphor Games
Umbranomicon $9.99 183 68% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) Pleasure Studio
The Case of the Golden Night Apartment $9.99 89 44% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,673) Buddy Studio
Herb Tea Man $10.99 73 94% 2.2k $24k (exactly $24,068) Cateasee Studio
Kill The Clock · EA $14.99 45 88% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Happy Slugs

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