Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Submarine

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Submarine Open World game?

Open World + Submarine

Only 10 developers shipped a Submarine Open World 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, Modern Naval Warfare, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×285 the market median. Revenue is up 915% on the market; 18 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 915% on the market, 18 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Submarine
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $21k → $3.6k → $449 → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Submarine: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,399)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,529)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 36
Announced 18
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 915% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Submarine
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Open World, Submarine
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 686 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 18 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UBOAT older $29.99 25,568 83% 767k $23M (exactly $23,003,530) Deep Water Studio
Cold Waters older $39.99 4,603 87% 138k $5.5M (exactly $5,522,219) Killerfish Games
War on the Sea older $39.99 3,151 76% 95k $3.8M (exactly $3,780,255) Killerfish Games
Under The Waves older $29.99 1,683 77% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,514,195) Parallel Studio
The Fisherman - Fishing Planet older $29.99 975 62% 29k $877k (exactly $877,208) Fishing Planet LLC
Silent Hunter® III older $9.99 2,544 87% 76k $762k (exactly $762,437) Ubisoft
Silent Hunter 5®: Battle of the Atlantic older $9.99 2,450 44% 74k $734k (exactly $734,265) Ubisoft Romania
IronWolf VR older $19.99 1,087 94% 33k $652k (exactly $651,874) Ionized Studios
Diluvion: Resubmerged older $19.99 1,032 61% 31k $619k (exactly $618,890) Arachnid Games
Modern Naval Warfare · EA $59.99 237 58% 7.1k $427k (exactly $426,529) Wave Ops
Behind Glass: Aquarium Simulator $14.99 390 95% 12k $175k (exactly $175,383) BitBros Inc
A Tale of Silent Depths $9.99 21 80% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Crit42 Studio
Dark of the Depths $4.99 17 70% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) GhastlyVastly
ARTDINK GAME LOG: Aquanaut's Holiday $19.99 4 100% 120 $2.4k (exactly $2,399) ARTDINK
Depth Diver · EA $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Nerra Tolstoï, FLaV
Big Fish $4.99 3 66% 90 $449 (exactly $449) TOQ Games
Wake Explorer $1.99 5 100% 150 $298 (exactly $298) Ocelli
Aquascaping Designer $0.99 5 0% 150 $148 (exactly $148) Nipinfo
Tethyscope · EA $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Chris Madsen

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