Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Historical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Historical

Of 91 developers who shipped a Historical 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.. 117 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×285 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 117 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 117 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 91
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $955 → $5.3k → $13k → $8.7k → $3.4k → $1.5k (still earning) → $4.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 91
Bottom 30% $629 (exactly $629)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,032)
Top 5% $179k (exactly $179,040)
Developers, 2 yr 91
Released games 352
Announced 117
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Historical
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 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 $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 7,151 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator older $19.99 37,870 92% 1.1M $23M (exactly $22,710,639) niceplay games
Five Nights at Freddy's older $4.99 53,607 94% 1.6M $8.0M (exactly $8,024,968) Scott Cawthon
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments older $29.99 7,130 89% 214k $6.4M (exactly $6,414,861) Frogwares
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles older $39.99 5,113 93% 153k $6.1M (exactly $6,134,066) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 older $7.99 23,871 93% 716k $5.7M (exactly $5,721,879) Scott Cawthon
Pentiment older $19.99 9,231 95% 277k $5.5M (exactly $5,535,831) Obsidian Entertainment
The Case of the Golden Idol older $17.99 9,794 97% 294k $5.3M (exactly $5,285,822) Color Gray Games
Syberia: The World Before older $39.99 4,069 89% 122k $4.9M (exactly $4,881,579) Microids Studio Paris
The House of Da Vinci older $19.99 6,710 85% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,023,987) Blue Brain Games
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth older $19.99 5,926 92% 178k $3.6M (exactly $3,553,822) Daedalic Entertainment
The Rise of the Golden Idol $19.99 3,786 92% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,464) Color Gray Games
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged $29.99 954 93% 29k $858k (exactly $858,314) Revolution Software Ltd
Death of the Reprobate $12.99 659 96% 20k $257k (exactly $256,812) Joe Richardson
The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure $13.99 467 97% 14k $196k (exactly $196,000) The Wonder Room
The Stone of Madness $29.99 199 77% 6.0k $179k (exactly $179,040) The Game Kitchen
Perfect Tides: Station to Station $19.99 227 97% 6.8k $136k (exactly $136,132) Three Bees
Legends of the Round Table $29.99 127 89% 3.8k $114k (exactly $114,262) Artifice Studio
Insects Awaken $8.99 398 88% 12k $107k (exactly $107,341) HelloMeow
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator $12.99 208 59% 6.2k $81k (exactly $81,058) Zeitglas

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