Games › Exploration › Exploration + Walking Simulator
Should I ship an Exploration Walking Simulator?
Exploration + Walking Simulator
Of 1,306 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 1,851 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×345 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 1,851 games are announced against 797 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,552) |
| Top 25% | $7.7k (exactly $7,714) |
| Top 5% | $164k (exactly $163,955) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 1,306 |
| Released games | 3,667 |
| Announced | 1,851 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Walking Simulator
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Walking Simulator; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 103,036 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 784 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,851 games are announced against 797 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
The Long Dark 2017 · $66M 
DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT 2022 · $60M 
Firewatch 2016 · $56M 
SOMA 2015 · $42M 
GRIS 2018 · $38M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Long Dark | older | $19.99 | 110,264 89% | 3.3M | $66M (exactly $66,125,321) | Hinterland Studio Inc. |
| | DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT | older | $39.99 | 49,837 91% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,789,449) | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS |
| | Firewatch | older | $19.99 | 93,690 90% | 2.8M | $56M (exactly $56,185,893) | Campo Santo |
| | SOMA | older | $29.99 | 46,772 95% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $42,080,768) | Frictional Games |
| | GRIS | older | $14.99 | 83,857 96% | 2.5M | $38M (exactly $37,710,493) | Nomada Studio |
 | DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH | $69.99 | 15,434 94% | 463k | $32M (exactly $32,406,770) | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, Nixxes Software | |
 | Crime Scene Cleaner | older | $29.99 | 32,469 98% | 974k | $29M (exactly $29,212,359) | President Studio |
 | What Remains of Edith Finch | older | $19.99 | 47,036 95% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,207,489) | Giant Sparrow |
 | The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe | older | $24.99 | 34,268 94% | 1.0M | $26M (exactly $25,690,720) | Crows Crows Crows |
 | The Witness | older | $39.99 | 17,197 85% | 516k | $21M (exactly $20,631,241) | Thekla, Inc. |
 | Cairn | $29.99 | 18,224 94% | 547k | $16M (exactly $16,396,133) | The Game Bakers | |
 | Mouthwashing | $12.99 | 34,353 95% | 1.0M | $13M (exactly $13,387,364) | Wrong Organ | |
 | ROUTINE | $24.99 | 7,322 91% | 220k | $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) | Lunar Software | |
 | Longvinter | $19.99 | 6,951 68% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,168,515) | Uuvana Studios | |
 | KARMA: The Dark World | $24.99 | 3,963 90% | 119k | $3.0M (exactly $2,971,061) | POLLARD STUDIO LLC | |
 | The Midnight Walk | $29.99 | 2,682 92% | 80k | $2.4M (exactly $2,412,995) | MoonHood | |
 | Copycat | $14.99 | 4,611 89% | 138k | $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) | Spoonful Of Wonder | |
 | Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek | $7.99 | 7,141 75% | 214k | $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) | Rayll | |
 | Baby Steps | $19.99 | 2,355 90% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,294) | Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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