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Should I ship a Hidden Object Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Hidden Object
Of 413 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 310 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is flat on the market; 310 games are announced against 249 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $987 (exactly $987) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
| Top 5% | $31k (exactly $30,539) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 413 |
| Released games | 991 |
| Announced | 310 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Hidden Object
- effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 6,725 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 228 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 310 games are announced against 249 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Walking Simulator with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + WarFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + MusicFair
- + SupernaturalFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + NoirFair
Comparable games
Quern - Undying Thoughts 2016 · $2.9M 
The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M 
35MM 2016 · $946k 
Taiji 2022 · $851k 
Lushfoil Photography Sim 2025 · $773k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Quern - Undying Thoughts | older | $24.99 | 3,812 90% | 114k | $2.9M (exactly $2,857,856) | Zadbox Entertainment |
| | The Gardens Between | older | $19.99 | 2,362 93% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | The Voxel Agents |
| | 35MM | older | $8.99 | 3,508 71% | 105k | $946k (exactly $946,108) | Носков Сергей |
| | Taiji | older | $24.99 | 1,135 92% | 34k | $851k (exactly $850,910) | Matthew VanDevander |
| | Lushfoil Photography Sim | $14.99 | 1,718 91% | 52k | $773k (exactly $772,585) | Matt2 | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | PANELKI | older | $7.99 | 2,404 86% | 72k | $576k (exactly $576,239) | Alexander Gromyko |
 | [Chilla's Art] The Closing Shift | 閉店事件 | older | $5.99 | 2,963 87% | 89k | $532k (exactly $532,451) | Chilla's Art |
 | The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day | older | $9.99 | 1,680 76% | 50k | $503k (exactly $503,496) | ComonGames |
 | Prehistoric Hunt | · EA older | $17.99 | 678 84% | 20k | $366k (exactly $365,917) | Antiproto Studios |
 | Dollmare | $4.99 | 2,045 94% | 61k | $306k (exactly $306,136) | Alex Grade, gonzeek, Oxeren | |
 | BLACKSHARD | $14.99 | 432 91% | 13k | $194k (exactly $194,270) | Redlock Studio, Enclave | |
 | GlitchSPANKR | $19.99 | 275 96% | 8.3k | $165k (exactly $164,918) | Mahelyk, TheClassifiedX | |
 | Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ | $7.99 | 611 78% | 18k | $146k (exactly $146,457) | Chilla's Art | |
 | 10 Dead Doves | $24.99 | 195 88% | 5.9k | $146k (exactly $146,192) | Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Mic… (Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Michael Millard) | |
 | The Anomaly Project | $7.99 | 531 81% | 16k | $127k (exactly $127,281) | Kekdot | |
 | Don't Be Afraid 2 | $16.99 | 201 71% | 6.0k | $102k (exactly $102,450) | Eneida Games, Cat-astrophe Games | |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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