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Should I ship a Pirate Management game?
Management + Pirates
Only 16 developers shipped a Pirate Management game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Corsair Cove, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.6M, ×5781 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 41 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,383) |
| Top 5% | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 60 |
| Announced | 41 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Pirates
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,538 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Corsair Cove 2026 · $3.6M 
Sailing Era 2023 · $3.4M 
Port Royale 4 2020 · $1.7M 
Airship: Kingdoms Adrift 2023 · $812k 
The Brew Barons 2024 · $546k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Corsair Cove | $39.99 | 3,026 85% | 91k | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) | Limbic Entertainment | |
| | Sailing Era | older | $24.99 | 4,565 78% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,422,380) | GY Games |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
| | Airship: Kingdoms Adrift | older | $29.99 | 902 75% | 27k | $812k (exactly $811,529) | Revolution Industry |
| | The Brew Barons | older | $21.99 | 828 75% | 25k | $546k (exactly $546,232) | Lifetap Studios |
 | Port Royale 3 | older | $14.99 | 1,204 72% | 36k | $541k (exactly $541,439) | Gaming Minds Studios |
 | Nantucket | older | $17.99 | 782 78% | 23k | $422k (exactly $422,045) | Picaresque Games |
 | Republic of Pirates | older | $24.99 | 420 70% | 13k | $315k (exactly $314,874) | Crazy Goat Games |
 | The Caribbean Sail | older | $14.99 | 503 93% | 15k | $226k (exactly $226,199) | Victorian Clambake |
 | Autonauts vs Piratebots | older | $19.99 | 334 80% | 10k | $200k (exactly $200,300) | Denki |
 | High Seas, High Profits! | $14.99 | 165 86% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | lexy.zip | |
 | Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | $14.99 | 119 33% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Fishing Cactus | |
 | Resort Island Simulator | $9.99 | 58 74% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | Tenjin Games | |
 | Deep Space Outpost | $15.99 | 32 71% | 960 | $15k (exactly $15,350) | Niris Games | |
 | The Road To Harvest: Food From Across The Ocean | $5.99 | 75 76% | 2.3k | $13k (exactly $13,478) | MuccyGames | |
 | Pirate Cove Simulator | $9.99 | 34 61% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Kool2Play | |
 | Maggie's Movies - Second Shot | $9.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) | Space Fox Games | |
 | Moorage | · EA | $7.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | Daedalus Studios |
 | New Yankee: Pirate Trap | $6.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) | Alawar Casual |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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