Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Walking Simulator

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Walking Simulator?

Combat + Walking Simulator

Of 51 developers who shipped a Combat Walking Simulator 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.. 61 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $210. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 61 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 61 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Walking Simulator
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $120 → $3.0k → $5.1k → $748 → $987 → $599 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Walking Simulator: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 5% $159k (exactly $159,034)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 121
Announced 61
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 20% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Walking Simulator
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Combat, Walking Simulator; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,568 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $600, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  7. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  8. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  9. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced
  12. + ProgrammingPoor odds10 devs · median $14k · 19 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT 2022 · $60M Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga 2024 · $14M Hunt Down The Freeman 2018 · $1.1M Skoof Simulator 2024 · $841k Quadrober Simulator 2024 · $615k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT older $39.99 49,837 91% 1.5M $60M (exactly $59,789,449) KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS
Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga older $49.99 9,381 86% 281k $14M (exactly $14,068,686) Ninja Theory
Hunt Down The Freeman older $9.99 3,785 54% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,134,364) Royal Rudius Entertainment
Skoof Simulator older $29.99 935 83% 28k $841k (exactly $841,220) PropilGames
Quadrober Simulator $29.99 684 79% 21k $615k (exactly $615,395) PropilGames
TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer $4.99 1,528 78% 46k $229k (exactly $228,742) AZAMATIKA
Death From Above: A Ukrainian Drone Warstory older $9.99 618 89% 19k $185k (exactly $185,215) Rockodile
It Takes a War $5.99 885 91% 27k $159k (exactly $159,034) Thomas Mackinnon
Pyromaniac $4.99 994 86% 30k $149k (exactly $148,802) Dominik Braun
Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta - Episode 1 - Gold Edition older $4.99 481 60% 14k $72k (exactly $72,006) Semaphore
Miami Paradise 2 $14.99 131 94% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Cartier 06 $4.99 93 74% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,922) CowardlyKnights
Invasion of The Halloween Fiends $3.49 107 94% 3.2k $11k (exactly $11,203) MyGrandfather Games
BoneField: Bodycam Horror · EA $9.99 37 62% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) RedRockGS
Hollowreach - Alone $6.99 33 72% 990 $6.9k (exactly $6,920) TDOG STUDIOS
Mansion of the Dead $2.99 76 93% 2.3k $6.8k (exactly $6,817) Caicai Studio

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