Do I ship it?

GamesWalking SimulatorWalking Simulator + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Runner

Of 74 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 60 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 41 developers shipped in the last year and 60 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 60 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $449 → $178 → $537 → $418 → $359 → $269 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $16,766)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 219
Announced 60
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 up 60% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Runner
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, Runner; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
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 70% positive over 525 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. Nearly all of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight older $19.99 529 75% 16k $317k (exactly $317,241) Orbital Express
Montaro older $0.99 10,625 94% 319k $316k (exactly $315,562) JCKSLAP
Trip to Vinelands older $4.99 1,572 85% 47k $235k (exactly $235,328) Walter Machado
WakuWaku Park $24.99 100 72% 3.0k $75k (exactly $74,970) DOUJIN3ARIES
Dark Succubus $6.99 171 77% 5.1k $36k (exactly $35,859) ZC Game
Star Sky older $3.99 295 78% 8.9k $35k (exactly $35,312) JMJ Interactive, Mårten Jonsson
Sex on the beach $24.99 30 63% 900 $22k (exactly $22,491) Games For Pleasure
Dungeon Coup older $9.99 75 64% 2.3k $22k (exactly $22,478) Mr Z Games
Packing House · EA older $9.99 73 68% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,878) SmartLife, Roman Studio
Puppet Team $4.99 112 64% 3.4k $17k (exactly $16,766) Editmode
Sexuality in Ancient Rome $19.99 14 64% 420 $8.4k (exactly $8,396) Games For Pleasure
Fiendish Quest $9.99 23 73% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) オニチク屋!
The Backrooms: Rescue Expedition $9.99 21 33% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) {CRYTIME}
Campfire: Night One $14.99 12 91% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Prisca, Mezey Krisztián
Lazy Climbers $4.99 35 68% 1.1k $5.2k (exactly $5,240) Cool Car Studio
Sportvida CyberDash $19.99 7 85% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) ible Sportvida

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