Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Lovecraftian

Of 51 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 76 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×905 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 76 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 76 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $5.0k → $8.5k → $1.5k → $4.9k → $1.8k → $5.3k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $17,270)
Top 5% $430k (exactly $429,811)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 165
Announced 76
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Lovecraftian
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, Puzzle, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 7,275 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Strange Horticulture older $15.99 14,867 94% 446k $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) Bad Viking
WORLD OF HORROR older $19.99 8,991 89% 270k $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) panstasz
The Room 4: Old Sins older $8.99 17,806 98% 534k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,278) Fireproof Games
The Room older $4.99 30,421 97% 913k $4.6M (exactly $4,554,024) Fireproof Games
Scarlet Hollow · EA older $29.99 4,833 97% 145k $4.3M (exactly $4,348,250) Black Tabby Games
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter older $19.99 6,862 87% 206k $4.1M (exactly $4,115,141) The Astronauts
The Room Two older $4.99 21,056 97% 632k $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) Fireproof Games
The Room VR: A Dark Matter older $24.99 3,866 97% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Fireproof Games
The Room Three older $5.99 12,997 95% 390k $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) Fireproof Games
Shadows Over Loathing older $22.99 3,120 95% 94k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) Asymmetric
Strange Antiquities $17.99 3,288 95% 99k $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) Bad Viking
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Do No Harm $15.99 896 74% 27k $430k (exactly $429,811) Darts Games
ASYLUM $24.99 421 84% 13k $316k (exactly $315,624) Senscape
The Dark Rites of Arkham $14.99 655 97% 20k $295k (exactly $294,554) Postmodern Adventures
DAEMON MASQUERADE $14.99 514 95% 15k $231k (exactly $231,146) Callum Page
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Sucker for Love: Crush Landing $12.99 158 88% 4.7k $62k (exactly $61,573) Akabaka
The Dream Of A Cockspur $6.99 288 93% 8.6k $60k (exactly $60,394) roccay
The Island of Doctor Morose $9.99 93 95% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) Square Butterfly Interactive

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