Should I ship a Pirate PvP game?
PvP + Pirates
Of 21 developers who shipped a Pirate PvP 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.. 60 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 60 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,030) |
| Top 5% | $2.6M (exactly $2,593,835) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 97 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 10% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 39%, 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
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Open World
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 56% positive over 17,139 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition 2020 · $386M 
ATLAS 2018 · EA · $33M 
ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 2023 · $21M 
Marauders 2022 · EA · $12M 
SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M | 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 |
| | ATLAS | · EA older | $29.99 | 37,119 46% | 1.1M | $33M (exactly $33,395,964) | Grapeshot Games, Instinct Games |
| | ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 | older | $39.99 | 17,281 91% | 518k | $21M (exactly $20,732,016) | Koei Tecmo |
| | Marauders | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,505 68% | 405k | $12M (exactly $12,150,448) | Small Impact Games |
| | SAND: Raiders of Sophie | · EA | $24.99 | 12,485 49% | 375k | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) | Hologryph, TowerHaus |
 | Naval Action | older | $19.99 | 10,187 52% | 306k | $6.1M (exactly $6,109,144) | Bermuda Computer Club |
 | One Piece Burning Blood | older | $49.99 | 3,751 81% | 113k | $5.6M (exactly $5,625,375) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
 | Skull and Bones | older | $29.99 | 4,650 65% | 140k | $4.2M (exactly $4,183,605) | Ubisoft Singapore |
 | Blazing Sails | older | $14.99 | 8,361 87% | 251k | $3.8M (exactly $3,759,942) | Get Up Games, Iceberg Interactive |
 | Age of Water | $29.99 | 2,883 72% | 86k | $2.6M (exactly $2,593,835) | Three Whales Studio | |
 | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
 | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
 | Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | $14.99 | 119 33% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Fishing Cactus | |
 | Chaos Faction Legacy Collection | $4.99 | 234 93% | 7.0k | $35k (exactly $35,030) | George "EON" Eade | |
 | The Pirate: Republic of Nassau | $19.99 | 25 68% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Home Net Games | |
 | Rum N' Gold Royale | $4.99 | 34 97% | 1.0k | $5.1k (exactly $5,090) | PrimalDev Games | |
 | Cannonball Crew | $2.99 | 20 85% | 600 | $1.8k (exactly $1,794) | Sweetbeard | |
 | Mutiny's Wake | · EA | $19.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Apollo DevLabs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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