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Should I ship a Romance Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Romance
Of 36 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 38 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×7.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $780. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 38 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $771 (exactly $771) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.5k (exactly $3,471) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,682) |
| Top 5% | $110k (exactly $110,345) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 102 |
| Announced | 38 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Romance
- 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; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Visual Novel, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,976 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $780. 7 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + WarFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + MusicFair
- + SupernaturalFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + NoirFair
- + HorrorFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | To the Moon | older | $9.99 | 69,549 95% | 2.1M | $21M (exactly $20,843,835) | Freebird Games |
| | Gone Home | older | $14.99 | 13,619 77% | 409k | $6.1M (exactly $6,124,464) | Fullbright |
| | Lake | older | $19.99 | 4,484 87% | 135k | $2.7M (exactly $2,689,055) | Gamious |
| | Last Day of June | older | $19.99 | 2,946 87% | 88k | $1.8M (exactly $1,766,716) | Ovosonico |
| | Sakura Swim Club | older | $9.99 | 2,070 85% | 62k | $620k (exactly $620,379) | Winged Cloud |
| | South of the Circle | older | $12.99 | 1,345 83% | 40k | $524k (exactly $524,146) | State of Play |
| | ghostpia Season One | older | $19.99 | 871 92% | 26k | $522k (exactly $522,339) | Chosuido, 超水道 |
| | Hatsune Miku VR | older | $24.99 | 616 72% | 18k | $462k (exactly $461,815) | Crypton Future Media |
| | Always Sometimes Monsters | older | $9.99 | 1,387 79% | 42k | $416k (exactly $415,684) | Vagabond Dog |
| | Maquette | older | $19.99 | 620 70% | 19k | $372k (exactly $371,814) | Graceful Decay |
| | Maid Cafe on Electric Street | $18.99 | 595 82% | 18k | $339k (exactly $338,972) | Adventurer's Tavern | |
| | Sex Trainer's Diary: Hidden Kink | $19.99 | 184 70% | 5.5k | $110k (exactly $110,345) | 老二打鐵舖, 072 Localize, NOVA CONCEPT | |
| | Exit Lust | $4.99 | 513 81% | 15k | $77k (exactly $76,796) | LUST Committee, JingShing | |
| | Cumrooms | $11.99 | 166 86% | 5.0k | $60k (exactly $59,710) | Moon Loom Studio | |
| | Miami Paradise 2 | $14.99 | 131 94% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
| | The Crimson Maid | $14.99 | 104 87% | 3.1k | $47k (exactly $46,769) | GrimTalin, Darkania Works | |
| | Lily’s Labyrinth of Lust | $9.99 | 81 48% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $24,276) | Erommersion Studios | |
| | Missile Command Delta | $19.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $19k (exactly $18,591) | 13AM Games, Mighty Yell | |
| | Bangkok Story: A Stray Dog | $9.99 | 59 100% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Shameful Guys Development | |
| | Puppet Team | $4.99 | 112 64% | 3.4k | $17k (exactly $16,766) | Editmode |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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