Do I ship it?

Games › Walking Simulator › Walking Simulator + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Dogs

Of 21 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 36 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×9.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $93k, ×198 the market median. Revenue is up 715% on the market; 36 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 715% on the market, 36 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Dogs
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: $2.7k → $5.9k → $5.1k → $1.4k → $91k → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $4.7k (exactly $4,716)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,682)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $93,882)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 68
Announced 36
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 up 715% on the market, supply 10% fewer 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.

Walking Simulator
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Walking Simulator; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Cute, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,652 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $4.7k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $93k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds13 devs · median $5.8k · 9 announced
  2. + WarFair10 devs · median $5.1k · 12 announced
  3. + RomanceFair36 devs · median $3.5k · 38 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair38 devs · median $2.7k · 25 announced
  5. + ThrillerFair449 devs · median $2.7k · 499 announced
  6. + MusicFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 20 announced
  7. + SupernaturalFair297 devs · median $1.8k · 354 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair1,043 devs · median $1.7k · 1,251 announced
  9. + PsychologicalFair442 devs · median $1.7k · 552 announced
  10. + IdlerFair38 devs · median $1.7k · 41 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair34 devs · median $1.6k · 35 announced
  12. + NoirFair44 devs · median $1.5k · 52 announced

All 145 pairs on the Walking Simulator page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Blair Witch 2019 · $5.8M Copycat 2024 · $2.1M The Red Lantern 2021 · $700k Farewell North 2024 · $412k Montaro 2016 · $316k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Blair Witch older $29.99 6,489 78% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,838,153) Bloober Team SA
Copycat $14.99 4,611 89% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) Spoonful Of Wonder
The Red Lantern older $24.99 934 83% 28k $700k (exactly $700,220) Timberline Studio
Farewell North older $23.99 572 95% 17k $412k (exactly $411,668) Kyle Banks
Montaro older $0.99 10,625 94% 319k $316k (exactly $315,562) JCKSLAP
Pupperazzi: The Dog Photography Game older $19.99 443 94% 13k $266k (exactly $265,667) Sundae Month
That Which Gave Chase older $4.99 1,102 91% 33k $165k (exactly $164,969) Aslak
The Heroes Around Me older $6.99 691 95% 21k $145k (exactly $144,903) OKJOY
An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs older $19.99 224 87% 6.7k $134k (exactly $134,333) Strange Scaffold
My Riding Stables: Life with Horses older $14.99 244 88% 7.3k $110k (exactly $109,727) Sproing
Sushi Ben $11.99 261 82% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,882) Big Brane Studios, Inc.
LOST EMBER: Rekindled Edition $29.99 101 77% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Mooneye Studios
The Pale Mimic $7.99 345 86% 10k $83k (exactly $82,696) Dark Snow Games
Finding Polka $9.99 71 100% 2.1k $21k (exactly $21,279) lidlocks
Bangkok Story: A Stray Dog $9.99 59 100% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) Shameful Guys Development
Unusual Tales: After Bark $6.99 65 89% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,630) Jall
Sands of Hope $10.99 26 84% 780 $8.6k (exactly $8,572) Guateke Studios
MUBOSAMA $4.99 50 90% 1.5k $7.5k (exactly $7,485) LuuuLuuuL
ニコニコさん | Niconico-san $2.99 63 96% 1.9k $5.7k (exactly $5,651) TI-BA

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