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Should I ship a Point & Click Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Point & Click
Of 76 developers who shipped a Point & Click 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.. 120 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×334 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 120 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,336) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,414) |
| Top 5% | $159k (exactly $158,853) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 76 |
| Released games | 321 |
| Announced | 120 |
| 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 up 65% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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
- Point & Click
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator, Point & Click; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 3,675 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
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
Life is Strange: Before the Storm 2017 · $17M 
Murdered: Soul Suspect 2014 · $7.2M 
Gone Home 2013 · $6.1M 
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter 2014 · $4.1M 
THE LONGING 2020 · $3.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Life is Strange: Before the Storm | older | $16.99 | 33,504 93% | 1.0M | $17M (exactly $17,076,989) | Deck Nine, Feral Interactive (Mac), Fer… (Deck Nine, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Murdered: Soul Suspect | older | $19.99 | 12,051 87% | 362k | $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) | Airtight Games |
| | Gone Home | older | $14.99 | 13,619 77% | 409k | $6.1M (exactly $6,124,464) | Fullbright |
| | The Vanishing of Ethan Carter | older | $19.99 | 6,862 87% | 206k | $4.1M (exactly $4,115,141) | The Astronauts |
| | THE LONGING | older | $14.99 | 6,977 92% | 209k | $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) | Studio Seufz |
 | Quern - Undying Thoughts | older | $24.99 | 3,812 90% | 114k | $2.9M (exactly $2,857,856) | Zadbox Entertainment |
 | Obduction | older | $29.99 | 3,032 78% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,727,890) | Cyan, Inc. |
 | Kentucky Route Zero: PC Edition | older | $24.99 | 3,241 81% | 97k | $2.4M (exactly $2,429,778) | Cardboard Computer |
 | Rakuen | older | $14.99 | 4,699 96% | 141k | $2.1M (exactly $2,113,140) | Laura Shigihara |
 | Myst | older | $34.99 | 2,002 88% | 60k | $2.1M (exactly $2,101,499) | Cyan Worlds, Inc. |
 | Dimhaven - The Lost Source | $25.99 | 945 87% | 28k | $737k (exactly $736,816) | Zadbox Entertainment | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | The End of the Sun | $24.99 | 228 97% | 6.8k | $171k (exactly $170,932) | The End of the Sun Forge | |
 | Brno Transit | $8.99 | 589 85% | 18k | $159k (exactly $158,853) | Spytihněv | |
 | As Long As You're Here | $9.99 | 491 99% | 15k | $147k (exactly $147,153) | Autoscopia | |
 | Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room | $12.99 | 191 81% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | mc2games | |
 | Secrets of Blackrock Manor - Escape Room | $9.99 | 222 80% | 6.7k | $67k (exactly $66,533) | Biri Biri | |
 | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios | |
 | Back to Hearth | $3.99 | 343 98% | 10k | $41k (exactly $41,057) | Podoba Interactive | |
 | Future? No Thanks! | $19.99 | 47 100% | 1.4k | $28k (exactly $28,186) | Molleindustria |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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