Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Submarine

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Submarine game?

Combat + Submarine

Only 15 developers shipped a Combat Submarine game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Modern Naval Warfare, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 100% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 19 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Submarine
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $110k → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Submarine: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,485)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,529)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 35
Announced 19
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 50% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Submarine
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
Combat, Submarine; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Naval Combat, RTS
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,227 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023 · $767k Modern Naval Warfare 2026 · EA · $427k Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival 2025 · $248k SHIPS AT WAR 2021 · EA · $166k Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare 2025 · $110k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter older $29.99 852 73% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
Modern Naval Warfare · EA $59.99 237 58% 7.1k $427k (exactly $426,529) Wave Ops
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
SHIPS AT WAR · EA older $14.99 369 76% 11k $166k (exactly $165,939) Golddorf Spieleentwicklung
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks
Silent Depth 2: Pacific · EA older $12.99 270 58% 8.1k $105k (exactly $105,219) MicroProse Software
Crash Dive 2 older $11.99 233 95% 7.0k $84k (exactly $83,810) Panic Ensues Software
UBOAT: The Silent Wolf VR older $19.99 69 59% 2.1k $41k (exactly $41,379) Titan GameZ
1971: Indian Naval Front older $14.99 57 68% 1.7k $26k (exactly $25,633) Neosphere Interactive Studios
Great Naval Battles: The Final Fury older $9.99 15 80% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) IO Design Group, Divide By Zero Software
Critical Fishing $2.99 50 96% 1.5k $4.5k (exactly $4,485) lazygun
Abyss Crew $9.99 10 30% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) PGM Studio, Deep Slap Studio
Tigershark $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) N-Space
Submarine Survivor $3.99 5 80% 150 $598 (exactly $598) The Bat Flight
Rusted Sea $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Meerkatapult Games
The Swarm 2 $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Solsgames
Battleships Combat: Evolved $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Mantegral Studio

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