Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Science

Of 40 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 28 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.9k → $89 → $3.7k → $418 (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $418 (exactly $418)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,633)
Top 5% $206k (exactly $206,468)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 109
Announced 28
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 150% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Science
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 3,370 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $420, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Machinika: Museum older $7.99 1,184 91% 36k $284k (exactly $283,805) Littlefield Studio
Haven Moon older $11.99 646 77% 19k $232k (exactly $232,366) Francois Roussel
Machinika: Atlas $11.99 574 76% 17k $206k (exactly $206,468) Littlefield Studio
Tested on Humans: Escape Room older $9.99 434 87% 13k $130k (exactly $130,070) mc2games
Looking For Fael $19.99 165 98% 5.0k $99k (exactly $98,950) Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire,… (Swing Swing Submarine, La Poule Noire, ARTE France)
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
PRINCIPIA: Master of Science · EA older $9.99 302 69% 9.1k $91k (exactly $90,509) tomeapp
Growing My Grandpa! older $4.99 468 98% 14k $70k (exactly $70,060) Yames' Games
Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow older $14.99 153 74% 4.6k $69k (exactly $68,804) Brave Giant LTD
The Dream Of A Cockspur $6.99 288 93% 8.6k $60k (exactly $60,394) roccay
60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room $7.99 153 82% 4.6k $37k (exactly $36,674) mc2games
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
TELLURICENE $11.99 61 100% 1.8k $22k (exactly $21,942) DEADline Studios
RigidGems Museum $24.99 25 96% 750 $19k (exactly $18,742) FerioWorks
Breadbox $11.99 34 97% 1.0k $12k (exactly $12,230) Bitfall

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