Do I ship it?

GamesWalking SimulatorWalking Simulator + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Walking Simulator?

Walking Simulator + Thriller

Of 449 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 499 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $720. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 499 games are announced against 271 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 499 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Walking Simulator + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 449
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $8.4k → $4.2k → $3.9k → $4.0k → $3.0k → $2.9k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Walking Simulator + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 449
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,090)
Top 5% $237k (exactly $237,327)
Developers, 2 yr 449
Released games 937
Announced 499
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 up 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Thriller
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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 61,590 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 259 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 499 games are announced against 271 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, 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. + MusicFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 20 announced
  6. + SupernaturalFair297 devs · median $1.8k · 354 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorFair1,043 devs · median $1.7k · 1,251 announced
  8. + PsychologicalFair442 devs · median $1.7k · 552 announced
  9. + IdlerFair38 devs · median $1.7k · 41 announced
  10. + Mystery DungeonFair34 devs · median $1.6k · 35 announced
  11. + NoirFair44 devs · median $1.5k · 52 announced
  12. + HorrorFair1,169 devs · median $1.5k · 1,331 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
Firewatch older $19.99 93,690 90% 2.8M $56M (exactly $56,185,893) Campo Santo
Mouthwashing $12.99 34,353 95% 1.0M $13M (exactly $13,387,364) Wrong Organ
Still Wakes the Deep older $34.99 11,213 87% 336k $12M (exactly $11,770,286) The Chinese Room
The Invincible older $29.99 10,055 87% 302k $9.0M (exactly $9,046,484) Starward Industries
港詭實錄ParanormalHK older $12.99 18,874 89% 566k $7.4M (exactly $7,355,198) Ghostpie Studio
ROUTINE $24.99 7,322 91% 220k $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) Lunar Software
Nobody Wants to Die older $24.99 5,818 83% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) Critical Hit Games
The Painscreek Killings older $19.99 5,784 90% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,468,665) EQ Studios
Observation older $24.99 4,590 78% 138k $3.4M (exactly $3,441,123) Screen Burn
1000xRESIST older $19.99 5,310 96% 159k $3.2M (exactly $3,184,407) sunset visitor 斜陽過客
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek $7.99 7,141 75% 214k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) Rayll
Eclipsium $12.99 3,306 91% 99k $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) Housefire
The Complex: Expedition $14.99 2,620 89% 79k $1.2M (exactly $1,178,214) pgWave
Dimhaven - The Lost Source $25.99 945 87% 28k $737k (exactly $736,816) Zadbox Entertainment
Luto $19.99 1,225 85% 37k $735k (exactly $734,632) Broken Bird Games
The Scourge | Tai Ương $19.99 1,192 93% 36k $715k (exactly $714,842) Rare Reversee, Beaztek
One-Eyed Likho $19.99 1,155 93% 35k $693k (exactly $692,654) Morteshka

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