Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Underwater
Should I ship an Underwater Life Sim?
Life Sim + Underwater
Of 36 developers who shipped an Underwater Life 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.. 43 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×612 the market median. Revenue is up 160% on the market; 43 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.2k (exactly $3,232) |
| Top 25% | $46k (exactly $45,854) |
| Top 5% | $385k (exactly $384,596) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 160% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
- Life Sim; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Idler
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 9,316 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
Starsand Island 2026 · $7.1M 
Critter Cove 2024 · EA · $1.3M 
Aquarist 2024 · $456k 
Fish Game 2023 · $442k 
Subside 2024 · $385k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Starsand Island | $39.99 | 5,898 76% | 177k | $7.1M (exactly $7,075,831) | Seed Sparkle Lab | |
| | Critter Cove | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,735 94% | 52k | $1.3M (exactly $1,300,730) | Gentleman Rat Studios |
| | Aquarist | older | $15.99 | 950 81% | 29k | $456k (exactly $455,715) | FreeMind S.A. |
| | Fish Game | older | $24.99 | 589 93% | 18k | $442k (exactly $441,573) | A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games) |
| | Subside | $24.99 | 513 96% | 15k | $385k (exactly $384,596) | A2D Software | |
 | Ecosystem | $19.99 | 601 76% | 18k | $360k (exactly $360,420) | Tom Johnson | |
 | Aquarium Designer | older | $9.99 | 1,086 84% | 33k | $325k (exactly $325,474) | Sigur Studio |
 | FISHERY | · EA older | $19.99 | 375 83% | 11k | $225k (exactly $224,887) | Lilou Studio |
 | Behind Glass: Aquarium Simulator | $14.99 | 390 95% | 12k | $175k (exactly $175,383) | BitBros Inc | |
 | Fantasy Aquarium | $6.99 | 833 79% | 25k | $175k (exactly $174,680) | MOON SCAPE | |
 | Captain Bones : A Pirate's Journey | $14.99 | 348 79% | 10k | $156k (exactly $156,496) | World of Poly | |
 | Deep Blue Sushi | · EA | $14.99 | 212 75% | 6.4k | $95k (exactly $95,336) | PaperPixel Games |
 | Help! I'm Turning Into A Mermaid! | $29.99 | 66 95% | 2.0k | $59k (exactly $59,380) | Lached Up Games | |
 | With Me: Aquatic Time | · EA | $9.99 | 153 88% | 4.6k | $46k (exactly $45,854) | Sensory Patch Games |
 | Zen Aquarium | $4.99 | 302 93% | 9.1k | $45k (exactly $45,209) | Astro Cat |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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