Do I ship it?

GamesDating SimDating Sim + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Point & Click game?

Dating Sim + Point & Click

Of 159 developers who shipped a Dating Sim 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, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×35 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×2702 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 185 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 35.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 185 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dating Sim + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 159
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $19k → $21k → $5.2k → $6.5k → $3.6k → $6.2k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dating Sim + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 159
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $4.2k (exactly $4,179)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,929)
Top 5% $322k (exactly $321,536)
Developers, 2 yr 159
Released games 437
Announced 185
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 25% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Dating Sim, Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 14,894 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $4.2k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 97 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WarStrong odds8 devs · median $100k · 3 announced
  2. + FMVStrong odds148 devs · median $57k · 111 announced
  3. + Souls-likeStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  4. + AliensStrong odds20 devs · median $6.7k · 15 announced
  5. + PlatformerStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  6. + HistoricalFair39 devs · median $27k · 44 announced
  7. + FPSFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  8. + Post-apocalypticFair29 devs · median $15k · 34 announced
  9. + Quick-Time EventsFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  10. + Immersive SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  11. + Action-AdventureFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  12. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced

All 142 pairs on the Dating Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut older $17.99 31,885 96% 957k $17M (exactly $17,208,334) Black Tabby Games
HuniePop older $9.99 23,989 96% 720k $7.2M (exactly $7,189,503) HuniePot
Summer Clover older $17.99 9,062 97% 272k $4.9M (exactly $4,890,761) Connection
Scarlet Hollow · EA older $29.99 4,833 97% 145k $4.3M (exactly $4,348,250) Black Tabby Games
Treasure of Nadia older $14.99 6,392 92% 192k $2.9M (exactly $2,874,482) NLT Media
Florence older $5.99 14,826 93% 445k $2.7M (exactly $2,664,232) Mountains
Idol Manager older $19.99 3,777 87% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,265,067) Glitch Pitch
Peeping Dorm Manager older $10.99 6,206 92% 186k $2.0M (exactly $2,046,118) HornyDoge
If My Heart Had Wings older $14.99 4,061 92% 122k $1.8M (exactly $1,826,232) MoeNovel
Otaku's Adventure older $6.99 8,275 94% 248k $1.7M (exactly $1,735,268) Spacelight Studio
Aurelia $19.99 2,253 94% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,351,124) MirthalGames
Cabernet $19.99 2,025 94% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) Party for Introverts
SHUTEN ORDER $49.99 712 80% 21k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) Neilo Inc.
Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode $7.99 3,784 98% 114k $907k (exactly $907,025) Freebird Games
The Censor DX Edition $17.99 1,467 82% 44k $792k (exactly $791,740) Tiramisu, Big S Studio
Spooky Milk Life · EA $11.99 1,216 74% 36k $437k (exactly $437,395) MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo
MILFs of Sunville - Season 2 $9.99 1,281 88% 38k $384k (exactly $383,916) L7team
SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim $14.99 715 87% 21k $322k (exactly $321,536) SAFE HAVN STUDIO
The Married Woman Nextdoor - Creampie SEX Beside Her Husband $9.99 933 86% 28k $280k (exactly $279,620) AibanWork
NTRaholic SS $14.99 508 62% 15k $228k (exactly $228,448) Tiramisu, Big S Studio

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