Should I ship a Pirate RTS?
RTS + Pirates
Only 6 developers shipped a Pirate RTS 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, Rise of Piracy, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $54k against a market of $1.5k. 13 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) |
|---|---|
| Median | $54k (exactly $53,514) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $74,200) |
| Top 5% | $249k (exactly $249,444) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 6 |
| Released games | 31 |
| Announced | 13 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS
- Price point
- $14.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 10,296 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.9k. 13 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Sailing Era 2023 · $3.4M 
Port Royale 4 2020 · $1.7M 
Buoyancy 2019 · EA · $315k 
Republic of Pirates 2024 · $315k 
Rise of Piracy 2026 · EA · $249k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sailing Era | older | $24.99 | 4,565 78% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,422,380) | GY Games |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
| | 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 |
| | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
 | Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity® | older | $9.99 | 687 78% | 21k | $206k (exactly $205,894) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
 | Void Destroyer 2 | older | $9.99 | 652 80% | 20k | $195k (exactly $195,404) | Iteration 11 |
 | Tropico Reloaded | older | $6.99 | 816 88% | 24k | $171k (exactly $171,115) | PopTop Software, BreakAway Games, Frog… (PopTop Software, BreakAway Games, Frog City Software) |
 | Distant Star: Revenant Fleet | older | $9.99 | 258 63% | 7.7k | $77k (exactly $77,323) | Blazing Griffin |
 | High Seas, High Profits! | $14.99 | 165 86% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | lexy.zip | |
 | Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | $14.99 | 119 33% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Fishing Cactus | |
 | Warlordocracy | $4.99 | 27 96% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Sof… (Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Software) | |
 | Pirate Patrol | $4.99 | 19 42% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | INDIELLIGENT | |
 | Legacy of Sail | $11.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $719 (exactly $719) | Hydran Software |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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