Games › Strategy › Strategy + Fishing
Should I ship a Fishing Strategy game?
Strategy + Fishing
Of 43 developers who shipped a Fishing Strategy 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×437 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 67 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,250) |
| Top 25% | $34k (exactly $34,177) |
| Top 5% | $274k (exactly $274,400) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 43 |
| Released games | 86 |
| Announced | 67 |
| 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 up 145% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Fishing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Economy
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 8,104 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Feed and Grow: Fish | · EA older | $14.99 | 20,750 78% | 623k | $9.3M (exactly $9,331,275) | Old B1ood |
| | Megaquarium | older | $24.99 | 3,444 95% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) | Twice Circled |
| | Moonstone Island | older | $19.99 | 4,063 84% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) | Studio Supersoft |
| | Go-Go Town! | $27.99 | 2,476 93% | 74k | $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) | Prideful Sloth | |
| | Fishing Sim World®: Pro Tour | older | $19.99 | 945 80% | 28k | $567k (exactly $566,716) | Dovetail Games |
| | Seablip | · EA older | $14.99 | 1,078 81% | 32k | $485k (exactly $484,777) | Jardar Solli |
| | Shoppe Keep 2 | older | $9.99 | 1,527 57% | 46k | $458k (exactly $457,642) | Strange Fire |
| | Ecosystem | $19.99 | 601 76% | 18k | $360k (exactly $360,420) | Tom Johnson | |
| | Fishing Inc | $4.99 | 1,833 91% | 55k | $274k (exactly $274,400) | BigBonk Studio | |
| | Retreat To Enen | older | $24.99 | 340 62% | 10k | $255k (exactly $254,898) | Head West |
| | Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas | $5.99 | 886 85% | 27k | $159k (exactly $159,214) | Happy Universe Studios | |
| | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
| | Lakeside Bar | $5.99 | 820 86% | 25k | $147k (exactly $147,354) | BITCOVER | |
| | MR FARMBOY | $9.99 | 480 85% | 14k | $144k (exactly $143,856) | mrdboy | |
| | Hungry Horrors | · EA | $14.99 | 209 98% | 6.3k | $94k (exactly $93,987) | Clumsy Bear Studio |
| | Idle Waters | $4.99 | 349 94% | 10k | $52k (exactly $52,245) | Ignita Games | |
| | Shujinkou | $59.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $47k (exactly $46,792) | Rice Games Inc |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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