Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Dogs

Of 55 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 35 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×175 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 35 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 35 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 55
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $1.6k → $2.4k → $2.0k → $564 → $683 → $239 (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $718 (exactly $718)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Top 5% $83k (exactly $83,201)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 185
Announced 35
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $1.99

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 50% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Point & Click; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Hand-drawn
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $1.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 4,092 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 $720, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $83k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective older $29.99 6,429 97% 193k $5.8M (exactly $5,784,171) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Sam & Max Save the World older $19.99 1,745 94% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,046,476) Skunkape Games
Maltese's Fluffy Onsen $5.99 2,727 94% 82k $490k (exactly $490,042) Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio
Samorost 2 older $4.99 2,462 87% 74k $369k (exactly $368,561) Amanita Design
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space older $19.99 491 99% 15k $294k (exactly $294,453) Skunkape Games
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse older $19.99 425 98% 13k $255k (exactly $254,872) Skunkape Games
Adore older $19.99 396 87% 12k $237k (exactly $237,481) Cadabra Games
The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure $13.99 467 97% 14k $196k (exactly $196,000) The Wonder Room
Purrfect Apawcalypse: Patches' Infurno older $6.99 440 99% 13k $92k (exactly $92,268) Denny Truong, Andy Schneider
Inspector Waffles older $12.99 223 95% 6.7k $87k (exactly $86,903) Goloso Games
Desk Paws $5.99 463 86% 14k $83k (exactly $83,201) GinkgoGames
Anxiety Puppy $4.99 154 95% 4.6k $23k (exactly $23,054) 小狗工作室
Bangkok Story: A Stray Dog $9.99 59 100% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) Shameful Guys Development
Woolly Boy and the Circus $7.99 42 64% 1.3k $10k (exactly $10,067) big pineapple
Bathhouse Creatures $4.99 62 98% 1.9k $9.3k (exactly $9,281) Sleepy Rocket
Asfalia: Panic at the Mansion $7.99 35 100% 1.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,390) Funtomata
The Peak of Life $8.99 30 66% 900 $8.1k (exactly $8,091) XY Game
Hidden Dogs $4.99 53 98% 1.6k $7.9k (exactly $7,934) Admiral Egg Games

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