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Should I ship an Arcade Sailing game?
Sailing + Arcade
Of 21 developers who shipped an Arcade Sailing 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.. 33 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $48k, ×78 the market median. Revenue is up 980% on the market; 33 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 5% | $49k (exactly $48,952) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 66 |
| Announced | 33 |
| 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 980% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Sailing, Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Relaxing, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 2,613 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sailing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Procedural GenerationPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Action RPGPoor odds
- + Resource ManagementPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
Comparable games
Cat Goes Fishing 2015 · $3.2M 
Seafarer: The Ship Sim 2025 · EA · $2.0M 
Corsairs Legacy - Pirate Action RPG & Sea Battles 2024 · EA · $656k 
Shipped 2019 · $175k 
Furious Seas 2021 · $118k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cat Goes Fishing | older | $6.99 | 15,431 94% | 463k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) | Cat5Games |
| | Seafarer: The Ship Sim | · EA | $34.99 | 1,921 64% | 58k | $2.0M (exactly $2,016,474) | astragon Development |
| | Corsairs Legacy - Pirate Action RPG & Sea Battles | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,094 74% | 33k | $656k (exactly $656,072) | Mauris, Tech-5 UG |
| | Shipped | older | $9.99 | 584 96% | 18k | $175k (exactly $175,025) | Majorariatto |
| | Furious Seas | older | $19.99 | 196 71% | 5.9k | $118k (exactly $117,541) | Future Immersive |
 | Trash Sailors: Co-Op Trash Raft Simulator | older | $19.99 | 187 67% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $112,144) | fluckyMachine |
 | Drakkar Crew | older | $14.99 | 155 80% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $69,704) | SiBear Games |
 | Profit Sea Incremental | $4.99 | 327 79% | 9.8k | $49k (exactly $48,952) | Monkey Cube | |
 | Nautical Survival | $7.99 | 179 97% | 5.4k | $43k (exactly $42,906) | Idan Rooze | |
 | Curse of Pirates | $9.99 | 121 80% | 3.6k | $36k (exactly $36,264) | Funky Parrot | |
 | Fish & Hike | · EA | $6.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $3.4k (exactly $3,355) | Sleepwalking Potatoes |
 | Speedboat Simulator | · EA | $8.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | Hard Shark Games |
 | Pizza Oof! | · EA | $5.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | Newmatic Co., Ltd. |
 | Idle Sailor | $2.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $1.6k (exactly $1,615) | PcZ Games | |
 | Cool Game Pack | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | COOL 2 Interactive | |
 | The Fishercat | $4.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | MACARON STUDIO |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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