Should I ship a Pirate PvE game?
PvE + Pirates
Of 33 developers who shipped a Pirate PvE 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.. 88 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3M, ×14904 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 88 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,301) |
| Top 5% | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 85 |
| Announced | 88 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 67,124 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition 2020 · $386M 
Windrose 2026 · EA · $43M 
ATLAS 2018 · EA · $33M 
SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M 
Skull and Bones 2024 · $4.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition | older | $39.99 | 322,072 88% | 9.7M | $386M (exactly $386,389,778) | Rare Ltd |
| | Windrose | · EA | $29.99 | 47,893 86% | 1.4M | $43M (exactly $43,089,332) | Kraken Express |
| | ATLAS | · EA older | $29.99 | 37,119 46% | 1.1M | $33M (exactly $33,395,964) | Grapeshot Games, Instinct Games |
| | SAND: Raiders of Sophie | · EA | $24.99 | 12,485 49% | 375k | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) | Hologryph, TowerHaus |
| | Skull and Bones | older | $29.99 | 4,650 65% | 140k | $4.2M (exactly $4,183,605) | Ubisoft Singapore |
 | Age of Water | $29.99 | 2,883 72% | 86k | $2.6M (exactly $2,593,835) | Three Whales Studio | |
 | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
 | Airship: Kingdoms Adrift | older | $29.99 | 902 75% | 27k | $812k (exactly $811,529) | Revolution Industry |
 | King of Seas | older | $24.99 | 603 57% | 18k | $452k (exactly $452,069) | 3DClouds |
 | Forgotten Seas | $24.99 | 475 75% | 14k | $356k (exactly $356,108) | Pangea Game Studios | |
 | Captain Wayne - Vacation Desperation | $9.99 | 1,019 97% | 31k | $305k (exactly $305,394) | Ciaran Games LLC | |
 | Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | $14.99 | 119 33% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Fishing Cactus | |
 | The Pirate: Republic of Nassau | $19.99 | 25 68% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Home Net Games | |
 | Fluffy Sailors | $12.99 | 29 79% | 870 | $11k (exactly $11,301) | Skaldery Games | |
 | Leaks In Space | · EA | $14.99 | 14 71% | 420 | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) | Frostech Game Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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