Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Pirates
Should I ship a Pirate Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Pirates
Only 12 developers shipped a Pirate Deckbuilding 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, Down with the Ship, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×585 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,308) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,014) |
| Top 5% | $367k (exactly $367,405) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 32 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 400% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 31%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
- Pirates
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $6.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 9 games average 88% positive over 1,066 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Deckbuilding with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + LogicFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
Comparable games
Pirates Outlaws 2020 · $429k 
Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k 
Dead Man's Draw 2014 · $92k 
Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage 2025 · EA · $47k 
Red Rogue Sea 2025 · $27k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pirates Outlaws | older | $19.99 | 715 80% | 21k | $429k (exactly $428,785) | Fabled Game |
| | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
| | Dead Man's Draw | older | $6.99 | 439 83% | 13k | $92k (exactly $92,058) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage | · EA | $14.99 | 105 60% | 3.2k | $47k (exactly $47,218) | Fabled Game |
| | Red Rogue Sea | $16.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $27k (exactly $27,014) | Firemage Studios | |
 | CosmoPirates | older | $11.99 | 65 81% | 2.0k | $23k (exactly $23,380) | BlackMoon Design |
 | Furry Sex: Pirates 🏴☠️ | older | $6.99 | 104 67% | 3.1k | $22k (exactly $21,809) | Furry Tails |
 | HoloSeeker | $3.99 | 66 89% | 2.0k | $7.9k (exactly $7,900) | Imoyokan | |
 | Sunken Stones | $11.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $5.0k (exactly $5,036) | Spritewrench | |
 | Pirates - Digital Strategy Game | · EA older | $9.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Twin Dimensional Productions |
 | Becoming Captain - The Roguelike Deckbuilder | $10.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.3k (exactly $2,308) | Le Havre Création | |
 | Hullbreaker | · EA | $6.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $419 (exactly $419) | Dalton |
 | Sail: Evolved Tides | $4.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Aellora Games | |
 | The Drowned Deal | $3.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | RB Games Studio | |
 | YohohoDice | · EA | $5.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | SecDeveloper |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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