Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Naval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Naval Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Naval

Of 22 developers who shipped a Naval Immersive Sim 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×2.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×285 the market median. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 37 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 260% on the market, 37 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Naval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $62k → $41k → $779 → $6.0k → $7.2k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Naval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $779 (exactly $779)
Median $4.0k (exactly $4,047)
Top 25% $69k (exactly $68,804)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,529)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 57
Announced 37
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 260% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Naval
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Open World
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 3,603 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $780, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $68k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stormworks: Build and Rescue 2020 · $41M Seafarer: The Ship Sim 2025 · EA · $2.0M Ships At Sea 2024 · EA · $1.9M Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023 · $767k IronWolf VR 2022 · $652k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stormworks: Build and Rescue older $24.99 54,649 90% 1.6M $41M (exactly $40,970,355) Geometa
Seafarer: The Ship Sim · EA $34.99 1,921 64% 58k $2.0M (exactly $2,016,474) astragon Development
Ships At Sea · EA older $24.99 2,479 69% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,858,506) Misc Games
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter older $29.99 852 73% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
IronWolf VR older $19.99 1,087 94% 33k $652k (exactly $651,874) Ionized Studios
Modern Naval Warfare · EA $59.99 237 58% 7.1k $427k (exactly $426,529) Wave Ops
Sunken Engine $14.99 814 80% 24k $366k (exactly $366,056) Two Nomads Studio
Combat Air Patrol 2: Military Flight Simulator · EA older $29.99 356 47% 11k $320k (exactly $320,293) Sim155 Limited
Battleship Command · EA $24.99 278 93% 8.3k $208k (exactly $208,417) Bracer
Dangerous Waters older $14.99 353 79% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) Sonalysts
Ship Explorer $19.99 134 84% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Turbine Room Studio
Following Seas · EA $14.99 153 76% 4.6k $69k (exactly $68,804) Whipstaff Games
Fathom's End · EA $19.99 20 95% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Lonely Anchor
D-Day VR Museum $14.99 16 100% 480 $7.2k (exactly $7,195) Lichtblau IT
Fall Of The MS Estonia $9.99 22 72% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Interactive Gaming Studios
Seven Seas: Adventures · EA $24.99 8 25% 240 $6.0k (exactly $5,998) Concept Games

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