Games › City Builder › City Builder + Pirates
Should I ship a Pirate City Builder?
City Builder + Pirates
Only 3 developers shipped a Pirate City Builder in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 12 did: 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.. 13 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $13k against a market of $630. 13 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $2.3k (exactly $2,322) |
|---|---|
| Median | $33k (exactly $32,984) |
| Top 25% | $315k (exactly $314,874) |
| Top 5% | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) |
| Developers, 4 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 32 |
| Announced | 13 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Pirates
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder
- Price point
- $12.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 10,134 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 13 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Corsair Cove 2026 · $3.6M 
Port Royale 4 2020 · $1.7M 
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles 2024 · $828k 
Port Royale 3 2012 · $541k 
Buoyancy 2019 · EA · $315k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Corsair Cove | $39.99 | 3,026 85% | 91k | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) | Limbic Entertainment | |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
| | Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles | older | $19.99 | 1,381 85% | 41k | $828k (exactly $828,186) | Tomas Sala |
| | Port Royale 3 | older | $14.99 | 1,204 72% | 36k | $541k (exactly $541,439) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Buoyancy | · EA older | $12.99 | 808 54% | 24k | $315k (exactly $314,878) | Devs on a Boat |
 | Republic of Pirates | older | $24.99 | 420 70% | 13k | $315k (exactly $314,874) | Crazy Goat Games |
 | Autonauts vs Piratebots | older | $19.99 | 334 80% | 10k | $200k (exactly $200,300) | Denki |
 | Tropico Reloaded | older | $6.99 | 816 88% | 24k | $171k (exactly $171,115) | PopTop Software, BreakAway Games, Frog… (PopTop Software, BreakAway Games, Frog City Software) |
 | Feral Blue | · EA older | $19.99 | 239 51% | 7.2k | $143k (exactly $143,328) | Snowbird Games |
 | High Sea Saga DX | older | $8.99 | 501 81% | 15k | $135k (exactly $135,120) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
 | The Road To Harvest: Food From Across The Ocean | $5.99 | 75 76% | 2.3k | $13k (exactly $13,478) | MuccyGames | |
 | New Yankee: Pirate Trap | $6.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) | Alawar Casual |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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