Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Walking Simulator
Should I ship a Walking Simulator Souls-like?
Souls-like + Walking Simulator
Only 17 developers shipped a Walking Simulator Souls-like in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Echoes of Aincrad, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 7 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $720. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 7 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) |
| Top 25% | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) |
| Top 5% | $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 7 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 25% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Walking Simulator
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Walking Simulator; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Funny, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 8,726 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 7 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Echoes of Aincrad | $69.99 | 4,108 47% | 123k | $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) | Game Studio Inc. | |
| | Hunt Down The Freeman | older | $9.99 | 3,785 54% | 114k | $1.1M (exactly $1,134,364) | Royal Rudius Entertainment |
| | Skoof Simulator | older | $29.99 | 935 83% | 28k | $841k (exactly $841,220) | PropilGames |
| | Fever Meme | $4.20 | 4,358 91% | 131k | $549k (exactly $549,108) | Aimbok | |
| | Bean Battles | older | $0.99 | 6,783 94% | 203k | $201k (exactly $201,455) | Gupa Games |
| | Hell Warders | older | $14.99 | 111 54% | 3.3k | $50k (exactly $49,917) | Anti Gravity Game Studios |
| | Dinosaurs Prehistoric Survivors | older | $12.99 | 91 58% | 2.7k | $35k (exactly $35,463) | Arcupion Art |
| | Barbotine | older | $2.99 | 168 90% | 5.0k | $15k (exactly $15,070) | Alex Rassloff |
| | Unusual Tales: After Bark | $6.99 | 65 89% | 2.0k | $14k (exactly $13,630) | Jall | |
| | MiSa | $4.99 | 58 65% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) | Hero | |
| | Dynasthir | $19.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) | Mireneye, Ulfgang | |
| | Backrooms: Partygoers | $11.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $4.0k (exactly $3,957) | Mascot Bro Studio | |
| | SKUF BACKROOMS | $0.99 | 78 58% | 2.3k | $2.3k (exactly $2,317) | akhsotoen | |
| | Pollen | · EA | $2.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $1.7k (exactly $1,704) | FSTR |
| | Master Knight | $3.99 | 11 72% | 330 | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) | DIG Games | |
| | Ball Torment | $4.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Tres Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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