Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Pirates
Should I ship a Pirate Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Pirates
Only 11 developers shipped a Pirate Perma Death 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, Dig, Dig, Die, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.8k. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 14 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,063) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,014) |
| Top 5% | $77k (exactly $76,944) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 14 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 20% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
- Perma Death
- Price point
- $7.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 577 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 14 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
- + PuzzleFair
Comparable games
Marauders 2022 · EA · $12M 
Abandon Ship 2019 · $863k 
Tempest: Pirate Action RPG 2016 · $800k 
Dig, Dig, Die 2026 · $77k 
XO 2019 · EA · $49k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marauders | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,505 68% | 405k | $12M (exactly $12,150,448) | Small Impact Games |
| | Abandon Ship | older | $24.99 | 1,151 71% | 35k | $863k (exactly $862,905) | Fireblade Software |
| | Tempest: Pirate Action RPG | older | $14.99 | 1,778 69% | 53k | $800k (exactly $799,567) | HeroCraft |
| | Dig, Dig, Die | $7.99 | 321 64% | 9.6k | $77k (exactly $76,944) | Alice Games | |
| | XO | · EA older | $19.99 | 82 87% | 2.5k | $49k (exactly $49,175) | Jumpdrive Studios |
 | Void Marauders | $13.99 | 106 77% | 3.2k | $44k (exactly $44,488) | Autarca | |
 | Red Rogue Sea | $16.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $27k (exactly $27,014) | Firemage Studios | |
 | A pirate quartermaster | older | $17.99 | 50 78% | 1.5k | $27k (exactly $26,985) | Ivan Armandy |
 | Angvik 2 | older | $5.00 | 177 94% | 5.3k | $27k (exactly $26,550) | Alastair John Jack |
 | Reclaim The Sea | $11.99 | 41 75% | 1.2k | $15k (exactly $14,748) | 1LastGame | |
 | Lord O' Pirates | $4.99 | 21 85% | 630 | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) | One Flow Man | |
 | Captain Puff MacFly | $2.99 | 23 95% | 690 | $2.1k (exactly $2,063) | MVCAO Studios | |
 | The Last Strand | $13.00 | 5 100% | 150 | $2.0k (exactly $1,950) | Rainbow Lotus Studio | |
 | The Chaser's Voyage | $19.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Bright at Midnight: A Game Studio | |
 | Coup Ahoo | $2.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $269 (exactly $269) | Antti Haavikko | |
 | Caribbean Prospector | · EA | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Denis Salanta |
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.