Do I ship it?

Games › Programming › Programming + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Programming Point & Click game?

Programming + Point & Click

Only 15 developers shipped a Programming Point & Click game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Cyber Warrior, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $60. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 13 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 13 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Programming + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $359 → $1.2k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Programming + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,574)
Top 5% $23k (exactly $23,388)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 45
Announced 13
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 down 30% on the market, supply 100% 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.

Programming
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Programming, Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Logic, Immersive Sim, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, Text-Based
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 178 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Base BuildingFair13 devs · median $53k · 21 announced
  2. + Auto BattlerFair14 devs · median $14k · 14 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  4. + SandboxFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  5. + Time ManagementFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  6. + AutomationFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  7. + Turn-Based TacticsFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  8. + SimulationFair132 devs · median $2.2k · 174 announced
  9. + RobotsFair24 devs · median $1.8k · 29 announced
  10. + CrimeFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 13 announced
  11. + Sci-fiFair56 devs · median $1.7k · 63 announced
  12. + FuturisticFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 25 announced

All 57 pairs on the Programming page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Else Heart.Break() 2015 · $260k One Dreamer 2022 · $192k Mainlining 2017 · $111k Milling machine simulator 2022 · $108k SOLAS 128 2021 · $82k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Else Heart.Break() older $24.99 347 78% 10k $260k (exactly $260,146) Erik Svedäng, El Huervo / Niklas Åkerbl… (Erik Svedäng, El Huervo / Niklas Åkerblad, Tobias Sjögren, Oscar "Ratvader" Rydelius, Johannes Gotlén)
One Dreamer older $15.99 400 90% 12k $192k (exactly $191,880) F2House
Mainlining older $12.99 285 77% 8.6k $111k (exactly $111,064) Rebelephant
Milling machine simulator older $19.99 180 90% 5.4k $108k (exactly $107,946) Igor Frank, Ursa Masnec
SOLAS 128 older $14.99 183 95% 5.5k $82k (exactly $82,295) Amicable Animal
Cyber Warrior $19.99 39 84% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Dunke Games
DevLife · EA older $10.99 56 60% 1.7k $18k (exactly $18,463) Roman Studio
Higgs Boson: Minimal Puzzle older $9.99 43 93% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,887) Remix Games
Breadbox $11.99 34 97% 1.0k $12k (exactly $12,230) Bitfall
Higgs Boson: Challenging Puzzle older $9.99 32 90% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Remix Games
The Amateur Deity Society $4.99 20 100% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Robert Carlson
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
Pixel Forge $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) MELOVITY
My Little Someone $1.99 18 94% 540 $1.1k (exactly $1,075) Some Person Team
OneOne $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Abyss Tech
System.Execute · EA $5.99 2 50% 60 $359 (exactly $359) TMHS Digital
Work Sucks, Let’s Play Dou Dizhu! $3.99 3 0% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Schelling Point
Token x Token x Clicker $2.99 2 100% 60 $179 (exactly $179) Preferred Networks

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