Do I ship it?

Games › Walking Simulator › Walking Simulator + Shop Keeper

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shop Keeper Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Shop Keeper

Of 22 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $39k, ×84 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 28 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Shop Keeper
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Shop Keeper: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,090)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,906)
Top 5% $40k (exactly $39,714)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 26
Announced 28
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 down 85% on the market, supply 535% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
Shop Keeper
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, Shop Keeper; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Life Sim
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,103 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $39k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 28 games are announced against 19 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

King of Retail 2022 · $2.3M A Merchant's Promise 2025 · EA · $135k Tidy Up Together 2026 · $40k Tech Store Simulator 2024 · $31k Village Merchant 2026 · $27k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
King of Retail older $25.99 2,982 88% 89k $2.3M (exactly $2,325,065) Freaking Games
A Merchant's Promise · EA $14.99 300 86% 9.0k $135k (exactly $134,910) Game Draft Studio
Tidy Up Together $5.99 221 80% 6.6k $40k (exactly $39,714) Malum Games
Tech Store Simulator $9.99 103 61% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) Astrasoft
Village Merchant $14.99 60 68% 1.8k $27k (exactly $26,982) Beast Games S. A., Console Labs S. A.
Arcadia Cafe $4.99 168 92% 5.0k $25k (exactly $25,150) Judas Brothers, Rassl.me
Parcel Delivery Simulator $6.99 114 61% 3.4k $24k (exactly $23,906) Digital Melody
I Sell Lemonade $13.99 56 67% 1.7k $24k (exactly $23,503) EBS, Picklebyte
Conductor: Eternal Service $14.99 34 64% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Beshbarmak games
My Corp Cargo Simulator · EA older $4.99 71 66% 2.1k $11k (exactly $10,629) No King Interactive
Sushi Simulator $7.99 36 75% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) C51 Games
Abyss Bistro $18.99 11 100% 330 $6.3k (exactly $6,267) MEONGSOFT

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