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Should I ship an FMV Walking Simulator?
FMV + Walking Simulator
Only 13 developers shipped an FMV Walking Simulator in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Eclipsium, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced.
Verdict: strong odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.8k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 7 in 10 cleared $1.9k. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 9 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×1.3 per shipper.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) |
| Top 25% | $148k (exactly $147,551) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 41 |
| Announced | 9 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 130% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FMV
- 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
- FMV, Walking Simulator
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,604 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalStrong odds
- + Post-apocalypticStrong odds
- + StrategyStrong odds
- + Multiple EndingsStrong odds
- + Immersive SimStrong odds
- + Choices MatterStrong odds
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + RPGStrong odds
Comparable games
Obduction 2016 · $2.7M 
Stories Untold 2017 · $1.3M 
Eclipsium 2025 · $1.3M 
realMyst: Masterpiece Edition 2014 · $749k 
Transference™ 2018 · $356k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Obduction | older | $29.99 | 3,032 78% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,727,890) | Cyan, Inc. |
| | Stories Untold | older | $9.99 | 4,357 86% | 131k | $1.3M (exactly $1,305,793) | Screen Burn |
| | Eclipsium | $12.99 | 3,306 91% | 99k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) | Housefire | |
| | realMyst: Masterpiece Edition | older | $17.99 | 1,388 88% | 42k | $749k (exactly $749,104) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
| | Transference™ | older | $24.99 | 475 69% | 14k | $356k (exactly $356,108) | Ubisoft |
 | Dead Take | $14.99 | 752 87% | 23k | $338k (exactly $338,174) | Surgent Studios | |
 | The Light Remake | older | $4.99 | 1,462 87% | 44k | $219k (exactly $218,861) | Носков Сергей |
 | Myst: Masterpiece Edition | older | $5.99 | 988 86% | 30k | $178k (exactly $177,544) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
 | Disillusion ST | $10.99 | 524 96% | 16k | $173k (exactly $172,763) | Disillusion Dev, Disillusion Dev | |
 | SLEEP AWAKE | $29.99 | 164 71% | 4.9k | $148k (exactly $147,551) | EYES OUT, LLC. | |
 | The Salesman | $4.99 | 724 82% | 22k | $108k (exactly $108,383) | Backstab Industries | |
 | Scientific project: Optic | $19.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) | KHVOYA Games | |
 | SIRE | $4.99 | 39 100% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | heartcase | |
 | ニコニコさん | Niconico-san | $2.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $5.7k (exactly $5,651) | TI-BA | |
 | Azrael's Tear | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Intelligent Games Ltd., Ken Haywood | |
 | Dead Silence - Echoes of the Damned | $4.99 | 13 38% | 390 | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) | Persian Dare |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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