Games › Point & Click › Point & Click + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Point & Click game?
Point & Click + Sci-fi
Of 190 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 282 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×526 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 282 games are announced against 121 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,492) |
| Top 5% | $250k (exactly $249,881) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 190 |
| Released games | 671 |
| Announced | 282 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Point & Click; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 16,822 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 89 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 282 games are announced against 121 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Point & Click with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Party-Based RPGFair
- + Life SimFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + MiningFair
- + CookingFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + Online Co-OpFair
- + Word GameFair
Comparable games
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action 2016 · $15M 
Machinarium 2009 · $11M 
Tales from the Borderlands 2021 · $9.1M 
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games 2017 · $6.3M 
The Red Strings Club 2018 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action | older | $14.99 | 33,838 97% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,216,949) | Sukeban Games |
| | Machinarium | older | $19.99 | 17,552 95% | 527k | $11M (exactly $10,525,934) | Amanita Design |
| | Tales from the Borderlands | older | $19.99 | 15,101 93% | 453k | $9.1M (exactly $9,056,070) | Telltale Games |
| | Zero Escape: The Nonary Games | older | $29.99 | 7,007 92% | 210k | $6.3M (exactly $6,304,198) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | The Red Strings Club | older | $14.99 | 12,797 93% | 384k | $5.8M (exactly $5,754,811) | Deconstructeam |
 | AI: The Somnium Files | older | $19.99 | 8,881 91% | 266k | $5.3M (exactly $5,325,936) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
 | Citizen Sleeper | older | $19.99 | 8,271 92% | 248k | $5.0M (exactly $4,960,119) | Jump Over The Age |
 | Minds Beneath Us | older | $19.99 | 5,749 96% | 172k | $3.4M (exactly $3,447,675) | BearBoneStudio |
 | Deponia | older | $9.99 | 10,455 87% | 314k | $3.1M (exactly $3,133,364) | Daedalic Entertainment |
 | Deponia: The Complete Journey | older | $29.99 | 3,375 85% | 101k | $3.0M (exactly $3,036,488) | Daedalic Entertainment |
 | The Drifter | $19.99 | 4,735 97% | 142k | $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) | Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd | |
 | Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector | $24.99 | 2,358 91% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,767,793) | Jump Over The Age | |
 | SHUTEN ORDER | $49.99 | 712 80% | 21k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) | Neilo Inc. | |
 | Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode | $7.99 | 3,784 98% | 114k | $907k (exactly $907,025) | Freebird Games | |
 | Goodnight Universe | $19.99 | 1,347 96% | 40k | $808k (exactly $807,796) | Nice Dream | |
 | Old Skies | $19.99 | 969 93% | 29k | $581k (exactly $581,109) | Wadjet Eye Games | |
 | Thank You For Your Application | $19.99 | 953 81% | 29k | $572k (exactly $571,514) | IceLemonTea Studio | |
 | Aether & Iron | $24.99 | 521 84% | 16k | $391k (exactly $390,594) | Seismic Squirrel, Chaos Theory Games | |
 | Winion Virus | $10.99 | 980 94% | 29k | $323k (exactly $323,106) | Dawntown Studio | |
 | Elroy and the Aliens | $17.99 | 463 97% | 14k | $250k (exactly $249,881) | Motiviti |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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