Do I ship it?

Games › Mystery Dungeon › Mystery Dungeon + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Point & Click Mystery Dungeon?

Mystery Dungeon + Point & Click

Of 26 developers who shipped a Point & Click Mystery Dungeon 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 27 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mystery Dungeon + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $9.3k → $3.3k → $538 → $90 → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mystery Dungeon + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $210 (exactly $210)
Top 25% $358 (exactly $358)
Top 5% $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 75
Announced 27
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 40% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Mystery Dungeon, Point & Click; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Exploration
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 127 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $210, 1 in 4 over $350, 1 in 20 over $6.2k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Mystery Dungeon with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGStrong odds43 devs · median $21k · 23 announced
  2. + TacticalStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Auto BattlerFair17 devs · median $13k · 16 announced
  4. + RomanceFair12 devs · median $5.8k · 10 announced
  5. + Perma DeathFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + Tactical RPGFair30 devs · median $2.4k · 24 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair34 devs · median $1.6k · 35 announced
  8. + SimulationFair57 devs · median $1.3k · 67 announced
  9. + Bullet HellFair14 devs · median $1.0k · 18 announced
  10. + Time ManagementFair11 devs · median $898 · 8 announced
  11. + HistoricalFair7 devs · median $719 · 10 announced
  12. + PhysicsFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced

All 116 pairs on the Mystery Dungeon page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dracula: Love Kills 2013 · $89k Mask of Mists 2020 · $77k The Mansion 2021 · EA · $32k Cave Quest 2020 · $25k Cave Quest 2 2021 · $20k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dracula: Love Kills older $9.99 298 80% 8.9k $89k (exactly $89,311) Waterlily Games
Mask of Mists older $14.99 171 85% 5.1k $77k (exactly $76,899) 9 Eyes Game Studio
The Mansion · EA older $6.99 153 65% 4.6k $32k (exactly $32,084) Forever Entertainment S. A.
Cave Quest older $9.99 84 94% 2.5k $25k (exactly $25,175) MD Studio
Cave Quest 2 older $12.99 52 92% 1.6k $20k (exactly $20,264) MD Studio
EXIT The Game – Trial of the Griffin older $7.99 71 84% 2.1k $17k (exactly $17,019) Nementic Games
The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana older $9.99 53 92% 1.6k $16k (exactly $15,884) Monolith Graphics, The Hideout
The Lab - Escape Room older $9.99 48 79% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) Flat Cat Games
Stocksynd House older $7.99 53 83% 1.6k $13k (exactly $12,704) CyberFlux Games, Gabro Media
DreamBreak older $6.99 48 56% 1.4k $10k (exactly $10,066) Fortell Games
NTR LIFE $3.99 70 74% 2.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,379) Jpegsama
Doctor Arcana and The Secret of Shadowspire $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Monolith Graphics, The Hideout
Rod of Asclepius $19.99 3 100% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Worcco Arts
Questboard $5.99 9 88% 270 $1.6k (exactly $1,617) Binary Cabin
The Unknown $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) GOGOIO Games
Dungeon Fortress : Overlord · EA $14.99 1 0% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Boonplay
The Last Reunion $1.99 6 83% 180 $358 (exactly $358) 제이게임즈
Arena II $3.95 3 100% 90 $356 (exactly $356) 30 Minute Games
Fujisan Nobori $1.99 5 60% 150 $298 (exactly $298) JIYUTORISEI
Halloween Mystery: 100 Hidden Object Fruits $0.99 10 50% 300 $297 (exactly $297) ArPeaKK Games

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