Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Dystopian

Of 86 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 182 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×1203 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 182 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 182 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $2.7k → $6.2k → $1.4k → $718 → $1.1k → $897 (still earning) → $955 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $989 (exactly $989)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,195)
Top 5% $572k (exactly $571,514)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 239
Announced 182
Effort 4 / 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 170% on the market, supply 60% more 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Point & Click; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Multiple Endings
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 17,629 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $990, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 182 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series older $49.99 36,594 96% 1.1M $55M (exactly $54,880,022) Skybound Games
Papers, Please older $9.99 73,406 97% 2.2M $22M (exactly $21,999,778) Lucas Pope
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action older $14.99 33,838 97% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,216,949) Sukeban Games
Beholder older $13.99 23,199 91% 696k $9.7M (exactly $9,736,620) Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games)
Not For Broadcast older $24.99 10,337 94% 310k $7.7M (exactly $7,749,649) NotGames
The Red Strings Club older $14.99 12,797 93% 384k $5.8M (exactly $5,754,811) Deconstructeam
Do Not Feed the Monkeys older $15.99 10,376 93% 311k $5.0M (exactly $4,977,367) Fictiorama Studios
Citizen Sleeper older $19.99 8,271 92% 248k $5.0M (exactly $4,960,119) Jump Over The Age
Beholder 2 older $17.99 6,865 87% 206k $3.7M (exactly $3,705,040) Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games)
Minds Beneath Us older $19.99 5,749 96% 172k $3.4M (exactly $3,447,675) BearBoneStudio
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Beholder: Conductor $13.99 4,532 91% 136k $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) Alawar
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector $24.99 2,358 91% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,767,793) Jump Over The Age
Phonopolis $24.99 1,537 92% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,152,289) Amanita Design
Thank You For Your Application $19.99 953 81% 29k $572k (exactly $571,514) IceLemonTea Studio
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Machinika: Atlas $11.99 574 76% 17k $206k (exactly $206,468) Littlefield Studio
Teller's Duty $11.99 388 72% 12k $140k (exactly $139,564) Hiscory
Lightracer: For Judge $9.99 462 92% 14k $138k (exactly $138,461) Smartmelon Games
Daymare Town $24.99 117 98% 3.5k $88k (exactly $87,715) Mateusz Skutnik

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