Games › Economy › Economy + Underwater
Should I ship an Underwater Economy game?
Economy + Underwater
Of 27 developers who shipped an Underwater Economy 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.. 30 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $760k, ×1212 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 30 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.2k (exactly $7,186) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $41,511) |
| Top 5% | $761k (exactly $760,834) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 down 95% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Underwater
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Fishing, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 16,616 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M 
Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M 
Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M 
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping 2025 · $761k 
Surviving the Abyss 2024 · $626k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cast n Chill | $14.99 | 8,383 94% | 251k | $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) | Wombat Brawler | |
| | Megaquarium | older | $24.99 | 3,444 95% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) | Twice Circled |
| | Chillquarium | older | $5.99 | 7,780 92% | 233k | $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) | Ben Reber |
| | Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping | $7.49 | 3,386 95% | 102k | $761k (exactly $760,834) | Lunheim Studios | |
| | Surviving the Abyss | $19.99 | 1,044 64% | 31k | $626k (exactly $626,087) | Rocket Flair Studios | |
 | Aquatico | older | $24.99 | 786 67% | 24k | $589k (exactly $589,264) | Digital Reef Games |
 | Scale the Depths | $9.99 | 1,881 88% | 56k | $564k (exactly $563,736) | Glass Gecko Games | |
 | 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 | |
 | Idlequarium | $5.99 | 231 75% | 6.9k | $42k (exactly $41,511) | NutsX | |
 | Desktop Fishes | $5.99 | 128 82% | 3.8k | $23k (exactly $23,002) | Daniel Santalla | |
 | Kraken Cleaning | $5.99 | 92 86% | 2.8k | $17k (exactly $16,532) | Luka Works | |
 | Pupple Pop | $4.99 | 110 85% | 3.3k | $16k (exactly $16,467) | GrindWill Labs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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