Do I ship it?

Games › Point & Click › Point & Click + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Point & Click game?

Point & Click + Underwater

Of 21 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 20 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 975% on the market; 20 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 975% on the market, 20 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Point & Click + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $2.7k → $298 → $2.9k → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Point & Click + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,797)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,467)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $53,236)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 56
Announced 20
Effort 5 / 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 up 975% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Underwater
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Point & Click; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Creature Collector
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,564 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $53k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 14 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. + Local Co-OpFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 9 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpFair28 devs · median $1.7k · 34 announced
  11. + Word GameFair60 devs · median $1.6k · 56 announced
  12. + CatsFair187 devs · median $1.2k · 183 announced

All 200 pairs on the Point & Click page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Insaniquarium Deluxe 2006 · $958k In Other Waters 2020 · $941k Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden 2014 · $371k Fantasy Aquarium 2024 · $175k Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 2023 · $99k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Insaniquarium Deluxe older $4.99 6,398 96% 192k $958k (exactly $957,781) PopCap Games, Inc.
In Other Waters older $14.99 2,093 88% 63k $941k (exactly $941,222) Jump Over The Age
Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden older $14.99 826 89% 25k $371k (exactly $371,452) Artifex Mundi
Fantasy Aquarium $6.99 833 79% 25k $175k (exactly $174,680) MOON SCAPE
Verne: The Shape of Fantasy older $14.99 221 82% 6.6k $99k (exactly $99,384) Gametopia
NAMAKORIUM (ナマコリウム) $11.99 148 93% 4.4k $53k (exactly $53,236) Polyscape Inc.
With Me: Aquatic Time · EA $9.99 153 88% 4.6k $46k (exactly $45,854) Sensory Patch Games
Panthalassa $13.99 98 97% 2.9k $41k (exactly $41,131) Meia Calça
SAMUDRA older $12.99 73 69% 2.2k $28k (exactly $28,448) Khayalan Arts
Twilight Oracle older $9.99 80 95% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,976) Cosmic Void
These Darker Tides $7.99 76 90% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,217) Pixel Drip Games
Pupple Pop $4.99 110 85% 3.3k $16k (exactly $16,467) GrindWill Labs
Bottle Can Float $3.99 91 89% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,893) Kayla.Z
Cozy Littlequarium $6.99 17 94% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) Bloom Effect Studios, Gabreu Senra
Aquanima $2.99 32 90% 960 $2.9k (exactly $2,870) 2Gamestudio
Meduziak $9.99 6 83% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Fieldfare Studios

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