Games › Naval Combat › Naval Combat + Strategy
Should I ship a Strategy Naval Combat game?
Naval Combat + Strategy
Of 68 developers who shipped a Strategy Naval Combat 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.. 112 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×679 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 112 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,134) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,708) |
| Top 5% | $427k (exactly $426,529) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 68 |
| Released games | 231 |
| Announced | 112 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Naval Combat
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Naval Combat, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Wargame, RTS, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 63% positive over 35,006 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 112 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Naval Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + World War IIFair
- + MilitaryFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + ArcadeLong shot
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + RTSPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M 
Besiege 2020 · $22M 
Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age 2024 · EA · $9.2M 
From the Depths 2020 · $8.3M 
Naval Action 2019 · $6.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Broken Arrow | $49.99 | 25,924 55% | 778k | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) | Steel Balalaika | |
| | Besiege | older | $14.99 | 48,045 95% | 1.4M | $22M (exactly $21,605,836) | Spiderling Studios |
| | Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age | · EA | $49.99 | 6,109 90% | 183k | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) | Triassic Games |
| | From the Depths | older | $24.99 | 11,059 89% | 332k | $8.3M (exactly $8,290,932) | Brilliant Skies Ltd. |
| | Naval Action | older | $19.99 | 10,187 52% | 306k | $6.1M (exactly $6,109,144) | Bermuda Computer Club |
 | Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 | older | $19.99 | 9,701 74% | 291k | $5.8M (exactly $5,817,690) | Tindalos Interactive |
 | Cold Waters | older | $39.99 | 4,603 87% | 138k | $5.5M (exactly $5,522,219) | Killerfish Games |
 | Airships: Conquer the Skies | older | $24.99 | 6,197 95% | 186k | $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) | David Stark |
 | War on the Sea | older | $39.99 | 3,151 76% | 95k | $3.8M (exactly $3,780,255) | Killerfish Games |
 | Sailing Era | older | $24.99 | 4,565 78% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,422,380) | GY Games |
 | Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles | · EA | $39.99 | 633 87% | 19k | $759k (exactly $759,410) | Drydock Dreams Games |
 | Modern Naval Warfare | · EA | $59.99 | 237 58% | 7.1k | $427k (exactly $426,529) | Wave Ops |
 | Darkwater | $9.99 | 989 77% | 30k | $296k (exactly $296,403) | Targon Studios | |
 | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
 | Battleship Command | · EA | $24.99 | 278 93% | 8.3k | $208k (exactly $208,417) | Bracer |
 | SeaCret 1 | · EA | $39.99 | 99 61% | 3.0k | $119k (exactly $118,770) | Dalas |
 | Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare | $39.99 | 92 60% | 2.8k | $110k (exactly $110,372) | Evil Twin Artworks | |
 | Silent Shark | $17.99 | 125 98% | 3.8k | $67k (exactly $67,462) | John Goering |
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.