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Should I ship a Detective Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Detective
Of 92 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 149 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $86k, ×182 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 149 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 5% | $87k (exactly $86,513) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 92 |
| Released games | 262 |
| Announced | 149 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 10% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Walking Simulator
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Detective
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Investigation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 5,449 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 149 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + WarFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + MusicFair
- + SupernaturalFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + NoirFair
Comparable games
Return of the Obra Dinn 2018 · $19M 
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2016 · $19M 
Murdered: Soul Suspect 2014 · $7.2M 
Call of Cthulhu® 2018 · $6.6M 
Nobody Wants to Die 2024 · $4.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Return of the Obra Dinn | older | $19.99 | 32,309 96% | 969k | $19M (exactly $19,375,707) | Lucas Pope |
| | Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | older | $19.99 | 30,961 95% | 929k | $19M (exactly $18,567,312) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction G… (Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction Games) |
| | Murdered: Soul Suspect | older | $19.99 | 12,051 87% | 362k | $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) | Airtight Games |
| | Call of Cthulhu® | older | $19.99 | 10,962 79% | 329k | $6.6M (exactly $6,573,911) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Nobody Wants to Die | older | $24.99 | 5,818 83% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) | Critical Hit Games |
 | The Vanishing of Ethan Carter | older | $19.99 | 6,862 87% | 206k | $4.1M (exactly $4,115,141) | The Astronauts |
 | >observer_ | older | $29.99 | 4,030 79% | 121k | $3.6M (exactly $3,625,791) | Bloober Team SA |
 | The Painscreek Killings | older | $19.99 | 5,784 90% | 174k | $3.5M (exactly $3,468,665) | EQ Studios |
 | This Bed We Made | older | $24.99 | 3,187 90% | 96k | $2.4M (exactly $2,389,294) | Lowbirth Games |
 | Observer: System Redux | older | $29.99 | 2,462 84% | 74k | $2.2M (exactly $2,215,061) | Bloober Team, Anshar Studios |
 | Dimhaven - The Lost Source | $25.99 | 945 87% | 28k | $737k (exactly $736,816) | Zadbox Entertainment | |
 | CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs | $4.99 | 2,752 96% | 83k | $412k (exactly $411,974) | Bastinus Rex | |
 | Radiolight | $14.99 | 414 90% | 12k | $186k (exactly $186,176) | Krystof Knesl | |
 | The End of the Sun | $24.99 | 228 97% | 6.8k | $171k (exactly $170,932) | The End of the Sun Forge | |
 | The Last Case of John Morley | $12.99 | 222 77% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | Indigo Studios - Interactive Stories | |
 | Dream Cage | $7.99 | 298 63% | 8.9k | $71k (exactly $71,431) | Hitori De Productions | |
 | Secrets of Blackrock Manor - Escape Room | $9.99 | 222 80% | 6.7k | $67k (exactly $66,533) | Biri Biri | |
 | Sea Chronicles | $9.99 | 154 90% | 4.6k | $46k (exactly $46,154) | Madi Abdykarimov | |
 | Cat Detective Albert Wilde | $11.99 | 121 93% | 3.6k | $44k (exactly $43,524) | beyondthosehills | |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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