Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Fishing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Survival game?

Survival + Fishing

Of 53 developers who shipped a Fishing Survival 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.. 97 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2084 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 97 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 97 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Fishing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $402k → $7.2k → $6.6k → $1.8k → $8.8k → $1.9k (still earning) → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Fishing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,134)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,507)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,674)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 114
Announced 97
Effort 6 / 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 up 115% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Fishing
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival, Fishing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Crafting, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 10,653 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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
DYSMANTLE older $19.99 11,022 91% 331k $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) 10tons Ltd
CryoFall older $19.99 4,905 78% 147k $2.9M (exactly $2,941,528) AtomicTorch Studio
Mirthwood $24.99 2,242 69% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) Bad Ridge Games
Grimshire · EA $14.99 3,243 97% 97k $1.5M (exactly $1,458,377) Acute Owl Studio
Sailwind · EA older $19.99 2,312 89% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,386,506) Raw Lion Workshop
Wild West Legacy older $26.99 1,706 39% 51k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) Moon Punch Studio
Salt 2: Shores of Gold $19.99 2,182 85% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) Lavaboots Studios
Russian Village Simulator older $29.99 889 84% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) VD Games, PropilGames
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Caravanners · EA $17.99 712 35% 21k $384k (exactly $384,266) Akif Akdemir
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
Forest Doesn’t Care $13.99 251 65% 7.5k $105k (exactly $105,345) MOROZ GAMES
Frost Survival VR $14.99 161 89% 4.8k $72k (exactly $72,402) Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.
Nautical Survival $7.99 179 97% 5.4k $43k (exactly $42,906) Idan Rooze
The One Fish · EA $7.99 149 71% 4.5k $36k (exactly $35,715) re:try

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