Do I ship it?

Games › Collectathon › Collectathon + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Collectathon game?

Collectathon + Underwater

Of 37 developers who shipped an Underwater Collectathon 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.. 37 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $720. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 37 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 37 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Collectathon + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $16k → $2.9k → $2.7k → $719 → $1.9k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Collectathon + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $716 (exactly $716)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,186)
Top 5% $159k (exactly $159,214)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 63
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 10% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Underwater
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Collectathon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Fishing
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 5,258 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Collectathon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds33 devs · median $33k · 42 announced
  2. + CapitalismStrong odds76 devs · median $6.2k · 75 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair7 devs · median $14k · 8 announced
  4. + EconomyFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  5. + ManagementFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  6. + CrimeFair10 devs · median $3.4k · 14 announced
  7. + Level EditorFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  8. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $2.7k · 30 announced
  9. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 9 announced
  10. + MythologyFair18 devs · median $2.4k · 20 announced
  11. + Combat RacingFair10 devs · median $2.2k · 12 announced
  12. + ModernFair22 devs · median $2.2k · 21 announced

All 178 pairs on the Collectathon page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated 2020 · $13M Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M The Fisherman - Fishing Planet 2019 · $877k Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping 2025 · $761k Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas 2026 · $159k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated older $29.99 14,439 94% 433k $13M (exactly $12,990,768) Purple Lamp
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
The Fisherman - Fishing Planet older $29.99 975 62% 29k $877k (exactly $877,208) Fishing Planet LLC
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas $5.99 886 85% 27k $159k (exactly $159,214) Happy Universe Studios
Joyquarium $5.99 475 90% 14k $85k (exactly $85,358) Easyfun Studio
Panthalassa $13.99 98 97% 2.9k $41k (exactly $41,131) Meia Calça
Dolphin Spirit: Ocean Mission older $24.99 37 86% 1.1k $28k (exactly $27,739) Magic Pockets
Desktop Fishes $5.99 128 82% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Daniel Santalla
Paleo Dive $19.99 33 84% 990 $20k (exactly $19,790) Astra Render
Lofi aquarium $5.99 87 77% 2.6k $16k (exactly $15,634) LitheGame
Wavekin $9.99 28 100% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) La Folie Studio
tuna hake's underwater $2.99 89 97% 2.7k $8.0k (exactly $7,983) osuika
Moose Diver $4.99 48 83% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) Lingon Studios

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