Market Analysisw
Currently in the market, the “cozy game” category — games which are more relaxing and low-stakes — have gotten quite an attention among regular players. The concept adhered by our game — exploration, narrative, and creativity — rather than absolute fighting and competitive games, has become more popular in the niche gaming community. According to the paper published, the most commonly cited figure values the global cozy game market at roughly $973 million in 2025, growing toward ~$1.5 billion by 2032 at about a 6.5% CAGR. The direction of growth is pretty clearly projected; the demand is driven by working professionals and young adults seeking stress relief and digital escapism.
Our Last Walk is committed to meeting this market demand. Our game category typically falls under it and has very good potential to bloom into the market. Our game does not compete with regular simulation games; rather, it competes in the overlap of cozy aesthetics and first-person puzzle exploration with emotional storytelling. Our game has very deep potential, coming from the following reasons:
- “Cozy” has become a discoverability keyword. Use of “cozy” as a primary selling point in Steam descriptions reportedly grew by roughly 675% between 2022 and 2025 — strong evidence that the audience actively searches for the mood the game delivers.
- Emotional, “weighty” themes sell in cozy wrapping. The market has repeatedly rewarded games that pair gentle mechanics with serious subject matter such as death, grief, and goodbye — precisely Our Last Walk’s storyline.
- The genre rewards small teams. Analysts describe cozy development as a comparatively low-cost, high-margin bet; the production barrier is low, which is exactly why the real challenge has shifted to standing out (see Section 11.9).
Competition
The games that were our development inspiration now serve as our tough competitors. Games like Stray, Escape Simulator, We Are Here Together, It Takes Two, and others that match our aesthetics and thematic approach — like Spiritfarer — are our top-line competitors. As of 2026, the sales reported below are the most reliable public reports available:
| Title | Year | Price | Reported sales & relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiritfarer | 2020 | ~$30 | 1M+ copies (all platforms); award-nominated. Closest thematic match — “a cozy management game about dying”; companionship and loss. |
| Escape Simulator | 2021 | ~$15 | 2M+ copies; Pine Studio ~EUR 7.8M revenue / EUR 5.8M profit (2022). Closest mechanical match — interactive rooms, solve-to-escape. |
| Stray | 2022 | ~$30 | 4M+ on Steam; est. ~$95M+ Steam revenue; ~6.5 hr playtime. Tone/audience match; aspirational ceiling, not a cost comp. |
| We Were Here | 2017+ | Free–$13 | Series est. >$1M on Steam. Co-op puzzle discovery loop; shows the value of online co-op. |
| It Takes Two | 2021 | ~$40 | ~30M copies (Hazelight, 2026). Structural benchmark for co-op narrative — a fully funded studio title. |
Our Position
Our game is a cozy and yet uneasy escape room simulator — for players who want the emotional touch similar to Spiritfarer and Escape Simulator’s puzzle designs at the same time and in the same game. That’s exactly where we stand: in between. Our Last Walk stands out among our competitors for the following reasons:
- Dual Character — Instead of playing as a single character, we have two protagonists, emotionally connected and featured throughout the game. Our whole design signature is based on the mutual relation between the two. Being able to switch and swiftly use each character’s unique abilities instantly gives players more options to explore — and sets us apart from our competitors.
- Genuine Storyline — Our story is not just a fantasy, but a way of showcasing the connection between a dog and a human — one that persists even afterlife. This story is unique. People are emotionally connected with this kind of bond, and that’s where we stand: connecting people and their pets together through a game.
For the initial launch, our project is already well driven by story and has real potential to grow further. We are not done yet — future updates will be based on real player feedback. Being newcomers in the market gives us a genuine chance to improve on what other cozy games lack.
Business Model
- Purchase Model: Premium, one-time purchase. After deeply studying our potential in the market and the business cases of our competitors, we should be in a safe place with this model. We do not intend to have any micro-charges or in-app purchases at initial release.
- Advertisement: We will not be featuring any advertising in the game after charging the one-time payment.
- Platform: PC game releasing on Steam, with a standard 70/30 revenue split between developer and platform.
- Price: $14.99 at launch — a rational decision after evaluating competitors like Escape Simulator (at $15). Over time we also intend to run sales to boost the game within the community.
Projected Revenue
The numbers below are rough scenarios for a $14.99 PC launch, meant to help us think through decisions — not to predict what’ll actually happen. We assume we net about $9 per copy once you account for the platform’s ~30% cut, refunds, and the hit from regional pricing and VAT. Since most games on Steam sell modestly, we’ve used the conservative case as our planning baseline.
| Scenario | Units (yr 1) | Net rev. (≈$9/unit) | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 3,000 | ~$27,000 | Realistic floor for a debut cozy title with a modest wishlist. Covers tool/asset/marketing costs; strong portfolio outcome. |
| Base | 20,000 | ~$180,000 | Achievable with a healthy pre-launch wishlist (10k+), a strong Next Fest demo, and dog-community traction. |
| Optimistic | 75,000+ | ~$675,000+ | Requires a genuine breakout — viral dog clip, creator pickup, or a console/Game Pass deal. |
Cost side: our biggest cost is time, not money. The actual cash outlay is low and mostly fixed: Steam’s one-time ~$100 fee per title, whatever we choose to spend on paid assets, audio, or fonts, and a modest marketing budget if we want one. In pure cash terms, we break even within the first few hundred copies. The real thing to weigh is what our own time is worth against the base and optimistic outcomes — plus what we gain in portfolio pieces and skills.
Non-revenue value: for a five-person student team, finishing and polishing a game with real emotional weight is worth a lot as a portfolio and learning asset, no matter how many copies it sells. It also gives us IP to build on — the house, Angel, Rich Thorne. A follow-up room, chapter, or co-op edition would cost far less to make the second time around.