Do I ship it?

GamesResource ManagementResource Management + Pirates

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Pirate Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Pirates

Only 19 developers shipped a Pirate Resource Management 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, Corsair Cove, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 48 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $3.6M, ×5781 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 48 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Pirates
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $42k → $2.4k → $13k → $10k → $1.5k (still earning) → $15k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Pirates: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,736)
Top 5% $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 42
Announced 48
Effort 5 / 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 down 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Pirates
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Management, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,667 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $3.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Corsair Cove $39.99 3,026 85% 91k $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) Limbic Entertainment
Port Royale 4 older $39.99 1,405 56% 42k $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) Gaming Minds
Hero of the Kingdom II older $8.99 1,900 95% 57k $512k (exactly $512,430) Lonely Troops
Buoyancy · EA older $12.99 808 54% 24k $315k (exactly $314,878) Devs on a Boat
Republic of Pirates older $24.99 420 70% 13k $315k (exactly $314,874) Crazy Goat Games
Autonauts vs Piratebots older $19.99 334 80% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Denki
High Seas, High Profits! $14.99 165 86% 5.0k $74k (exactly $74,200) lexy.zip
Following Seas · EA $14.99 153 76% 4.6k $69k (exactly $68,804) Whipstaff Games
Winds Of Trade older $11.99 154 61% 4.6k $55k (exactly $55,394) Rhombico Games
Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean $14.99 119 33% 3.6k $54k (exactly $53,514) Fishing Cactus
Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire $24.99 45 64% 1.4k $34k (exactly $33,736) Octeto Studios
Deep Space Outpost $15.99 32 71% 960 $15k (exactly $15,350) Niris Games
The Road To Harvest: Food From Across The Ocean $5.99 75 76% 2.3k $13k (exactly $13,478) MuccyGames
Pirate Cove Simulator $9.99 34 61% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Kool2Play
Pirates: Rogue's Fortune · EA $12.99 10 100% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) NINPO Game Studio
Maggie's Movies - Second Shot $9.99 8 100% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Space Fox Games

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