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Should I ship an Idler Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Idler
Of 38 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 41 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 41 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,672) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,755) |
| Top 5% | $16k (exactly $15,937) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 41 |
| 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 down 20% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,415 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. Nearly all of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 23 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
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + NoirFair
- + HorrorFair
Comparable games
THE LONGING 2020 · $3.1M 
Forest Hustle 2026 · $85k 
Gamer Shop Simulator 2021 · $60k 
Bird 2021 · EA · $26k 
Typical Nightmare 2018 · $22k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | THE LONGING | older | $14.99 | 6,977 92% | 209k | $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) | Studio Seufz |
| | Forest Hustle | $4.99 | 570 90% | 17k | $85k (exactly $85,329) | Mike Forest | |
| | Gamer Shop Simulator | older | $8.99 | 221 37% | 6.6k | $60k (exactly $59,604) | DiamosDev |
| | Bird | · EA older | $0.99 | 872 80% | 26k | $26k (exactly $25,898) | Meng Games |
| | Typical Nightmare | older | $9.99 | 74 35% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | ELECTROSTALIN ENTERTAINMENT |
 | Seashell | older | $3.99 | 139 96% | 4.2k | $17k (exactly $16,638) | High Tea Frog |
 | Madness inside | $6.99 | 76 73% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $15,937) | ZV GAMES | |
 | MosGhost | $7.99 | 59 67% | 1.8k | $14k (exactly $14,142) | Sinka Games | |
 | The Hust Banhmi | Bánh Mì Bách Khoa | $1.99 | 208 93% | 6.2k | $12k (exactly $12,418) | marisa0704 | |
 | Pocket Oasis | older | $11.99 | 33 72% | 990 | $12k (exactly $11,870) | knit'n'purl game studio LLC |
 | Soba's Gunpaw | $2.99 | 130 93% | 3.9k | $12k (exactly $11,661) | Evrac Studio | |
 | Refuted Wind | $1.99 | 148 77% | 4.4k | $8.8k (exactly $8,836) | Tropical Games | |
 | Echoes of Vasteria | $4.99 | 55 70% | 1.7k | $8.2k (exactly $8,234) | Blindsided Games | |
 | Trucker Horror | $2.99 | 79 64% | 2.4k | $7.1k (exactly $7,086) | Fireplay Studio | |
 | The Last Ski Trip | $2.99 | 68 77% | 2.0k | $6.1k (exactly $6,100) | Fireplay Studio | |
 | Terra Foliata | $8.99 | 22 72% | 660 | $5.9k (exactly $5,933) | Teleolabs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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