Do I ship it?

GamesWalking SimulatorWalking Simulator + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Platformer

Of 93 developers who shipped a Platformer 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.. 137 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 45 developers shipped in the last year and 137 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 137 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 93
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $660 → $599 → $1.5k → $719 → $1.2k → $359 → $59 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 93
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $358 (exactly $358)
Top 25% $3.5k (exactly $3,528)
Top 5% $56k (exactly $55,610)
Developers, 2 yr 93
Released games 343
Announced 137
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 down 80% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 15,402 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $55k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 66 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 137 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Walking Simulator with a different second tag, 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. + NoirFair44 devs · median $1.5k · 52 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
GRIS older $14.99 83,857 96% 2.5M $38M (exactly $37,710,493) Nomada Studio
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons older $14.99 33,765 94% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,184,120) Starbreeze Studios AB
Neva $19.99 9,343 93% 280k $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) Nomada Studio
Spirit of the North older $19.99 5,633 84% 169k $3.4M (exactly $3,378,110) Infuse Studio
RiME older $29.99 3,236 90% 97k $2.9M (exactly $2,911,429) Tequila Works, QLOC
Valley older $14.99 6,276 91% 188k $2.8M (exactly $2,822,317) Blue Isle Studios
The Artful Escape older $19.99 1,801 91% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) Beethoven and Dinosaur
Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip older $17.99 1,450 95% 44k $783k (exactly $782,565) snekflat
Lifeless Planet Premier Edition older $9.99 2,529 78% 76k $758k (exactly $757,941) Serenity Forge
Sea of Solitude older $19.99 1,125 82% 34k $675k (exactly $674,662) Jo-Mei Games
Fever Meme $4.20 4,358 91% 131k $549k (exactly $549,108) Aimbok
Light Up The Town $14.99 715 95% 21k $322k (exactly $321,536) Meadow Studios
BLACKSHARD $14.99 432 91% 13k $194k (exactly $194,270) Redlock Studio, Enclave
Friendly Steps $7.99 232 65% 7.0k $56k (exactly $55,610) KORO.GAMES
Cat Island Petrichor $14.99 87 70% 2.6k $39k (exactly $39,124) LuminousNote
The End of Gameplay $19.99 37 97% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) droqen
Island Off Outer Darkness $13.99 49 100% 1.5k $21k (exactly $20,565) Zugerujk
Puppet Team $4.99 112 64% 3.4k $17k (exactly $16,766) Editmode
Alice's Lullaby $14.99 37 83% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) Ape Law

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