Do I ship it?

GamesWalking SimulatorWalking Simulator + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Noir

Of 44 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 52 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $600. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 52 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 52 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $93k → $6.1k → $3.6k → $1.5k → $2.4k → $1.7k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $44k (exactly $43,524)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 130
Announced 52
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 10% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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, Investigation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,153 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $43k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds13 devs · median $5.8k · 9 announced
  2. + WarFair10 devs · median $5.1k · 12 announced
  3. + RomanceFair36 devs · median $3.5k · 38 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair38 devs · median $2.7k · 25 announced
  5. + ThrillerFair449 devs · median $2.7k · 499 announced
  6. + MusicFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 20 announced
  7. + SupernaturalFair297 devs · median $1.8k · 354 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair1,043 devs · median $1.7k · 1,251 announced
  9. + PsychologicalFair442 devs · median $1.7k · 552 announced
  10. + IdlerFair38 devs · median $1.7k · 41 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair34 devs · median $1.6k · 35 announced
  12. + HorrorFair1,169 devs · median $1.5k · 1,331 announced

All 145 pairs on the Walking Simulator page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Return of the Obra Dinn older $19.99 32,309 96% 969k $19M (exactly $19,375,707) Lucas Pope
Murdered: Soul Suspect older $19.99 12,051 87% 362k $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) Airtight Games
INDIKA older $24.99 7,034 89% 211k $5.3M (exactly $5,273,390) Odd Meter
Nobody Wants to Die older $24.99 5,818 83% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) Critical Hit Games
This Bed We Made older $24.99 3,187 90% 96k $2.4M (exactly $2,389,294) Lowbirth Games
Tales of the Neon Sea older $16.99 3,853 84% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiTi Games
Fears to Fathom - Norwood Hitchhike older $4.99 3,230 87% 97k $484k (exactly $483,531) Rayll
Fears to Fathom - Carson House older $4.99 2,764 91% 83k $414k (exactly $413,771) Rayll
Metamorphosis older $24.99 467 83% 14k $350k (exactly $350,110) Ovid Works
7th Sector older $10.99 643 72% 19k $212k (exactly $211,997) Носков Сергей
Radiolight $14.99 414 90% 12k $186k (exactly $186,176) Krystof Knesl
The Last Case of John Morley $12.99 222 77% 6.7k $87k (exactly $86,513) Indigo Studios - Interactive Stories
Cat Detective Albert Wilde $11.99 121 93% 3.6k $44k (exactly $43,524) beyondthosehills
Bite Night: Dine or Die $6.99 85 94% 2.6k $18k (exactly $17,824) MyGrandfather Games
Scary Shadow Spot - Last Farewell $9.99 50 96% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Daniele Doesn't Matter
T.W.I.R.L. $5.99 69 84% 2.1k $12k (exactly $12,399) Genie Boy Games
Beso's Shawarma $2.99 92 91% 2.8k $8.3k (exactly $8,252) Mtatsminda Studio
Witness the Dark - Episode 1 - Bloody Burger $8.99 28 75% 840 $7.6k (exactly $7,552) Cold Narrative
Jason Maxx $9.99 24 91% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Nabos Studios
Until They Burn $4.99 48 93% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) Runebox Studio

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.