Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Fishing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Action game?

Action + Fishing

Of 78 developers who shipped a Fishing Action game 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.. 131 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.8k, ×4.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1983 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 131 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 131 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Fishing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 78
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $7.3k → $5.8k → $4.5k → $8.0k → $4.5k → $1.3k (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Fishing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 78
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $2.8k (exactly $2,844)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $42,906)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,245,577)
Developers, 2 yr 78
Released games 189
Announced 131
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 60% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Fishing
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Fishing; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 77,952 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $2.8k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 131 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DAVE THE DIVER 2023 · $86M How to Fish 2026 · $14M Feed and Grow: Fish 2016 · EA · $9.3M DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M Immortal Life 2024 · $2.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DAVE THE DIVER older $19.99 142,662 96% 4.3M $86M (exactly $85,554,401) MINTROCKET
How to Fish $7.99 57,661 95% 1.7M $14M (exactly $13,821,342) Dazed Games
Feed and Grow: Fish · EA older $14.99 20,750 78% 623k $9.3M (exactly $9,331,275) Old B1ood
DYSMANTLE older $19.99 11,022 91% 331k $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) 10tons Ltd
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Phoenotopia: Awakening older $19.99 2,755 82% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,652,173) Cape Cosmic
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos older $19.99 2,705 77% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,622,188) Heliocentric Studios
Salt 2: Shores of Gold $19.99 2,182 85% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) Lavaboots Studios
Cryptmaster older $24.99 1,671 94% 50k $1.3M (exactly $1,252,749) Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games
Ultimate Fishing® Simulator 2 $19.99 2,077 66% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,245,577) Silent Bear Studio, SHINING GAMES
GONE Fishing · EA $9.99 3,016 90% 90k $904k (exactly $903,895) GONE Studios
FATE: Reawakened $24.99 758 73% 23k $568k (exactly $568,273) gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment… (gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment AB)
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
Luminary · EA $19.99 343 74% 10k $206k (exactly $205,697) Refractive Entertainment
Spindle $19.99 315 95% 9.5k $189k (exactly $188,905) Wobble Ghost
FISH · EA $9.99 583 94% 17k $175k (exactly $174,725) dmcaguy

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