Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Point & Click / Detective
Point & Click + Detective: a typical launch earns $2,104 in its first year
That is the median of 70 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 157 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 15.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 45% on the year before: 109 against 75.
- Price
- $2,104 median of 70 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +30.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 109 75 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 264 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 969 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.14%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.21% | 27 ranked of 264 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,369 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.49xhits against expected | 1.13x to 1.93x | 157 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #766 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +4%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −17% to +39% | 45 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,295 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +10%review growth against same-age games | +1% to +20% | 45 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #312 of 2,461pairs on this board |
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 157
- Hit rate
- 15.9%11.8% to 21.7%
- Expected rate
- 10.1%
- Against expected
- 1.49x1.13x to 1.93x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
157 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $202
- Median
- $1,638
- Top tenth
- $174,197
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +45%
- Against Steam
- +5%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Point & ClickGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- DetectiveNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
The Roottrees are Dead (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,792 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.3M
Escape Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,415 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.7M
Strange Antiquities (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,308 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.2M
The Mermaid Mask (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,880 reviews, 99% positiveest. $1.2M
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,089 reviews, 82% positiveest. $882k
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,204 reviews, 92% positiveest. $819k
Desktop Explorer (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,222 reviews, 95% positiveest. $749k
Crushed In Time (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,288 reviews, 90% positiveest. $652k
Related niches
pairs with Point & Click- Point & Click + Investigation$4,85753 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Female Protagonist$3,03141 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Story Rich$2,569170 launches priced, 208 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Mystery$2,426120 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Psychological Horror$2,30264 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Cozy$1,86352 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
More with Detective
pairs with Detective- Visual Novel + Detective$5,29368 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Mystery$5,207106 launches priced, 184 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Detective$4,125108 launches priced, 153 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Investigation$3,96395 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Detective$1,94182 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Detective$1,619120 launches priced, 201 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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