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Should I ship a Magic Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Magic
Of 24 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 51 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×476 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 51 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) |
| Top 5% | $226k (exactly $226,251) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 25%, 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
- Magic
- 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,041 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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
| 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 |
| | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | older | $59.99 | 9,129 74% | 274k | $16M (exactly $16,429,461) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Valley | older | $14.99 | 6,276 91% | 188k | $2.8M (exactly $2,822,317) | Blue Isle Studios |
| | Spirit of the North 2 | $29.99 | 934 85% | 28k | $840k (exactly $840,320) | Infuse Studio | |
| | Book of Travels | older | $4.99 | 1,595 73% | 48k | $239k (exactly $238,772) | Might and Delight |
| | 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 | |
| | Sumire | older | $5.99 | 887 95% | 27k | $159k (exactly $159,394) | GameTomo Team |
| | Mystic Academy: Escape Room | older | $10.99 | 224 75% | 6.7k | $74k (exactly $73,853) | mc2games |
| | Lunacy: Saint Rhodes | older | $19.99 | 121 61% | 3.6k | $73k (exactly $72,564) | Stormling Studios |
| | Chopped Up | $4.99 | 123 95% | 3.7k | $18k (exactly $18,413) | Dekaizen Studios LLC | |
| | Unpetrified: Echoes of Nature | $19.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $18k (exactly $17,991) | Dreamhunt Studio | |
| | Valley of Shadow | $19.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) | Synersteel Studio | |
| | Fiendish Quest | $9.99 | 23 73% | 690 | $6.9k (exactly $6,893) | オニチク屋! | |
| | Medieval Delivery | $12.99 | 14 64% | 420 | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) | Mega Game Studios | |
| | Teleport Master | $4.99 | 31 96% | 930 | $4.6k (exactly $4,641) | SinPoDo | |
| | BookStore Simulator | $7.99 | 17 41% | 510 | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) | Dark Mind |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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