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Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Puzzle Platformer
Of 74 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 124 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×88 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 124 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) |
| Top 5% | $42k (exactly $41,979) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 74 |
| Released games | 246 |
| Announced | 124 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator, Puzzle Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 15,211 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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
GRIS 2018 · $38M 
The Talos Principle 2 2023 · $11M 
OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition 2021 · $6.5M 
Neva 2024 · $5.6M 
The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M | 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 |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
| | OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition | older | $24.99 | 8,722 96% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,538,883) | SIGONO INC. |
| | Neva | $19.99 | 9,343 93% | 280k | $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) | Nomada Studio | |
| | The Gardens Between | older | $19.99 | 2,362 93% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | The Voxel Agents |
 | Old Man's Journey | older | $9.99 | 2,871 87% | 86k | $860k (exactly $860,439) | Broken Rules |
 | The Unfinished Swan | older | $14.99 | 1,888 83% | 57k | $849k (exactly $849,034) | Giant Sparrow |
 | Spirit of the North 2 | $29.99 | 934 85% | 28k | $840k (exactly $840,320) | Infuse Studio | |
 | Lifeless Planet Premier Edition | older | $9.99 | 2,529 78% | 76k | $758k (exactly $757,941) | Serenity Forge |
 | Submerged: Hidden Depths | older | $29.99 | 741 89% | 22k | $667k (exactly $666,678) | Uppercut Games Pty Ltd |
 | Fever Meme | $4.20 | 4,358 91% | 131k | $549k (exactly $549,108) | Aimbok | |
 | OFFERING APP | $19.99 | 70 81% | 2.1k | $42k (exactly $41,979) | KESHA WHITE | |
 | DEVIL'S WAY | $4.99 | 208 45% | 6.2k | $31k (exactly $31,138) | Rose Game Studio | |
 | 火起雪中寺 | $10.99 | 59 77% | 1.8k | $19k (exactly $19,452) | 江湖奇事录 | |
 | Merchant 64 | $3.99 | 120 67% | 3.6k | $14k (exactly $14,364) | SuitNtie | |
 | Stick Tongue | $4.99 | 58 98% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) | Hunt Games | |
 | Sands of Hope | $10.99 | 26 84% | 780 | $8.6k (exactly $8,572) | Guateke Studios | |
 | An Unfinished Game | $6.99 | 35 100% | 1.1k | $7.3k (exactly $7,340) | Vinzzi |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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