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Should I ship a Zombie Walking Simulator?
Walking Simulator + Zombies
Of 45 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $12k, ×19 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 37 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) |
| Top 25% | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) |
| Top 5% | $12k (exactly $12,126) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 138 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 45% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Zombies
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Walking Simulator; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 662 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. Nearly all of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Walking Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + WarFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + MusicFair
- + SupernaturalFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + NoirFair
Comparable games
Miscreated 2018 · $21M 
CastleMiner Z 2014 · $1.4M 
ZED ZONE 2023 · EA · $1.3M 
Neverending Nightmares 2014 · $953k 
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward 2016 · $844k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Miscreated | older | $29.99 | 23,050 66% | 692k | $21M (exactly $20,738,085) | Entrada Interactive LLC |
| | CastleMiner Z | older | $5.99 | 7,939 83% | 238k | $1.4M (exactly $1,426,638) | DigitalDNA Games |
| | ZED ZONE | · EA older | $11.99 | 3,506 81% | 105k | $1.3M (exactly $1,261,108) | Leven Liu |
| | Neverending Nightmares | older | $14.99 | 2,119 77% | 64k | $953k (exactly $952,914) | Infinitap Games |
| | The Hat Man: Shadow Ward | older | $9.99 | 2,816 64% | 84k | $844k (exactly $843,955) | Game Mechanics LLC |
 | Daylight | older | $4.99 | 1,038 53% | 31k | $155k (exactly $155,389) | Zombie Studios |
 | SUFFOCATE | $16.99 | 272 83% | 8.2k | $139k (exactly $138,638) | Naughty Cow | |
 | VERSUS SQUAD | older | $7.99 | 527 77% | 16k | $126k (exactly $126,322) | DiezelPower |
 | Fork Road | older | $3.99 | 902 74% | 27k | $108k (exactly $107,969) | Simon Au Yeung |
 | Estranged: The Departure | older | $5.99 | 338 84% | 10k | $61k (exactly $60,739) | Alan Edwardes |
 | Revengeful Ghost | $7.99 | 56 71% | 1.7k | $13k (exactly $13,423) | Akumu Yuko/Regista | |
 | Don't Look Behind | $4.99 | 81 58% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $12,126) | Simon Au Yeung | |
 | Trenches VR | $14.99 | 21 66% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | Steelkrill Studio | |
 | Project Three | · EA | $7.99 | 39 23% | 1.2k | $9.3k (exactly $9,348) | The Only Way Out |
 | Flashing Dark | $5.99 | 41 60% | 1.2k | $7.4k (exactly $7,368) | Flat Surface Studio, Fkjaha | |
 | Hollowreach - Alone | $6.99 | 33 72% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | TDOG STUDIOS | |
 | Mansion of the Dead | $2.99 | 76 93% | 2.3k | $6.8k (exactly $6,817) | Caicai Studio | |
 | Revengeful Island | $7.99 | 25 76% | 750 | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) | Akumu Yuko/Regista | |
 | Platform 6 ONLINE | 6番線オンライン協力異変探し | $9.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | MFC STUDIO, SHINISE GAMES, KOSEI YASUDA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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