Do I ship it?

GamesPoint & ClickPoint & Click + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Thriller

Of 119 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 238 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×849 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 238 games are announced against 78 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 238 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 119
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $12k → $3.2k → $1.5k → $13k → $2.6k → $1.2k (still earning) → $653 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 119
Bottom 30% $592 (exactly $592)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,189)
Top 5% $403k (exactly $403,471)
Developers, 2 yr 119
Released games 366
Announced 238
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 85% on the market, supply 70% 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.

Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Thriller
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, Investigation, Puzzle
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 16,879 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 238 games are announced against 78 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter older $29.99 12,076 80% 362k $11M (exactly $10,864,777) Frogwares
Unheard - Voices of Crime older $6.99 30,978 95% 929k $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) NEXT Studios
Twelve Minutes older $24.99 7,408 73% 222k $5.6M (exactly $5,553,778) Luis Antonio
The Case of the Golden Idol older $17.99 9,794 97% 294k $5.3M (exactly $5,285,822) Color Gray Games
Detention older $11.99 10,372 95% 311k $3.7M (exactly $3,730,808) RedCandleGames
The Operator older $13.99 8,515 91% 255k $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) Bureau 81
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies $39.99 2,911 83% 87k $3.5M (exactly $3,492,327) ZA/UM
The Room Two older $4.99 21,056 97% 632k $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) Fireproof Games
The Rewinder older $14.99 6,843 95% 205k $3.1M (exactly $3,077,297) MistyMountainStudio
The Drifter $19.99 4,735 97% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd
Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer $19.99 1,244 95% 37k $746k (exactly $746,027) Clifftop Games
Dimhaven - The Lost Source $25.99 945 87% 28k $737k (exactly $736,816) Zadbox Entertainment
Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest $24.99 922 89% 28k $691k (exactly $691,223) Team Tetrapod
That's not my Neighbor $2.99 4,498 88% 135k $403k (exactly $403,471) Nachosama Games
SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim $14.99 715 87% 21k $322k (exactly $321,536) SAFE HAVN STUDIO
Clock Tower: Rewind $19.99 460 88% 14k $276k (exactly $275,862) WayForward, Limited Run Games
Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile $39.99 221 78% 6.6k $265k (exactly $265,134) Microids Studio Lyon
The End of the Sun $24.99 228 97% 6.8k $171k (exactly $170,932) The End of the Sun Forge

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