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Should I ship a Fantasy Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Fantasy
Of 122 developers who shipped a Fantasy 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.. 160 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×360 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 160 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $838 (exactly $838) |
| Top 25% | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) |
| Top 5% | $171k (exactly $170,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 122 |
| Released games | 411 |
| Announced | 160 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Fantasy
- 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
- Walking Simulator; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 11,051 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 71 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 160 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition 2016 · $263M 
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice 2017 · $60M 
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR 2018 · $16M 
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons 2013 · $15M 
ABZU 2016 · $13M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | older | $39.99 | 219,271 94% | 6.6M | $263M (exactly $263,059,419) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice | older | $29.99 | 66,788 90% | 2.0M | $60M (exactly $60,089,164) | Ninja Theory |
| | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | older | $59.99 | 9,129 74% | 274k | $16M (exactly $16,429,461) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons | older | $14.99 | 33,765 94% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,184,120) | Starbreeze Studios AB |
| | ABZU | older | $19.99 | 21,997 93% | 660k | $13M (exactly $13,191,601) | Giant Squid |
 | Echoes of Aincrad | $69.99 | 4,108 47% | 123k | $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) | Game Studio Inc. | |
 | The Forgotten City | older | $24.99 | 11,159 96% | 335k | $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) | Modern Storyteller |
 | Cube World | older | $19.99 | 9,885 42% | 297k | $5.9M (exactly $5,928,034) | Picroma |
 | Spirit of the North | older | $19.99 | 5,633 84% | 169k | $3.4M (exactly $3,378,110) | Infuse Studio |
 | RiME | older | $29.99 | 3,236 90% | 97k | $2.9M (exactly $2,911,429) | Tequila Works, QLOC |
 | The Midnight Walk | $29.99 | 2,682 92% | 80k | $2.4M (exactly $2,412,995) | MoonHood | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Keeper | $19.99 | 1,031 91% | 31k | $618k (exactly $618,291) | Double Fine Productions | |
 | TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer | $4.99 | 1,528 78% | 46k | $229k (exactly $228,742) | AZAMATIKA | |
 | Junji Ito Maniac: An Infinite Gaol | $11.99 | 629 78% | 19k | $226k (exactly $226,251) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT | |
 | The End of the Sun | $24.99 | 228 97% | 6.8k | $171k (exactly $170,932) | The End of the Sun Forge | |
 | LOST EMBER: Rekindled Edition | $29.99 | 101 77% | 3.0k | $91k (exactly $90,870) | Mooneye Studios | |
 | Office Affairs : Executive Decisions | $13.99 | 121 73% | 3.6k | $51k (exactly $50,784) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Letters to Arralla | $16.99 | 97 95% | 2.9k | $49k (exactly $49,441) | Little Pink Clouds |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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