Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Underwater
Should I ship an Underwater Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Underwater
Of 38 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 69 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $7.0M, ×4724 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 69 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $838 (exactly $838) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $59k (exactly $58,911) |
| Top 5% | $7.1M (exactly $7,075,831) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 69 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Underwater
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Open World
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Realistic, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 25,680 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $840. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
BioShock™ Remastered 2016 · $31M 
BioShock™ 2007 · $15M 
BioShock™ 2 Remastered 2016 · $15M 
The Last Caretaker 2025 · EA · $14M 
Starsand Island 2026 · $7.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BioShock™ Remastered | older | $19.99 | 52,500 83% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,484,250) | 2K Boston, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel… (2K Boston, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel, Feral Interactive (Mac)) |
| | BioShock™ | older | $19.99 | 25,188 93% | 756k | $15M (exactly $15,105,244) | 2K Boston, 2K Australia |
| | BioShock™ 2 Remastered | older | $19.99 | 24,316 72% | 729k | $15M (exactly $14,582,305) | 2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2… (2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel, Feral Interactive (Mac)) |
| | The Last Caretaker | · EA | $34.99 | 13,178 86% | 395k | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) | Channel37 Ltd |
| | Starsand Island | $39.99 | 5,898 76% | 177k | $7.1M (exactly $7,075,831) | Seed Sparkle Lab | |
 | Survival: Fountain of Youth | older | $27.99 | 4,095 85% | 123k | $3.4M (exactly $3,438,572) | Odinsoft Inc. |
 | Ultimate Fishing® Simulator 2 | $19.99 | 2,077 66% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,245,577) | Silent Bear Studio, SHINING GAMES | |
 | DrainSim | · EA | $14.99 | 2,586 91% | 78k | $1.2M (exactly $1,162,924) | CodePeas |
 | IronWolf VR | older | $19.99 | 1,087 94% | 33k | $652k (exactly $651,874) | Ionized Studios |
 | Aquarist | older | $15.99 | 950 81% | 29k | $456k (exactly $455,715) | FreeMind S.A. |
 | Modern Naval Warfare | · EA | $59.99 | 237 58% | 7.1k | $427k (exactly $426,529) | Wave Ops |
 | Subside | $24.99 | 513 96% | 15k | $385k (exactly $384,596) | A2D Software | |
 | Liminalcore | $7.99 | 723 83% | 22k | $173k (exactly $173,303) | Shadow Owl Studios, Ashen Studios | |
 | Real VR Fishing | $19.99 | 184 73% | 5.5k | $110k (exactly $110,345) | Devs United Games, Inc | |
 | Following Seas | · EA | $14.99 | 153 76% | 4.6k | $69k (exactly $68,804) | Whipstaff Games |
 | Cave Crave VR | $14.99 | 131 83% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | 3R Games S.A. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.