Games › Strategy › Strategy + Pirates
Should I ship a Pirate Strategy game?
Strategy + Pirates
Of 64 developers who shipped a Pirate Strategy 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.. 120 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×397 the market median. Revenue is up 250% on the market; 120 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,748) |
| Top 5% | $249k (exactly $249,444) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 64 |
| Released games | 235 |
| Announced | 120 |
| 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 250% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Turn-Based Strategy, Exploration
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 6,476 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Naval Action 2019 · $6.1M 
Corsair Cove 2026 · $3.6M 
Sailing Era 2023 · $3.4M 
Sid Meier's Pirates! 2005 · $1.9M 
Port Royale 4 2020 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Naval Action | older | $19.99 | 10,187 52% | 306k | $6.1M (exactly $6,109,144) | Bermuda Computer Club |
| | Corsair Cove | $39.99 | 3,026 85% | 91k | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) | Limbic Entertainment | |
| | Sailing Era | older | $24.99 | 4,565 78% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,422,380) | GY Games |
| | Sid Meier's Pirates! | older | $9.99 | 6,198 94% | 186k | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,541) | Firaxis Games |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
 | Space Pirates And Zombies 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,734 78% | 82k | $1.6M (exactly $1,639,580) | MinMax Games Ltd. |
 | Abandon Ship | older | $24.99 | 1,151 71% | 35k | $863k (exactly $862,905) | Fireblade Software |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles | older | $19.99 | 1,381 85% | 41k | $828k (exactly $828,186) | Tomas Sala |
 | Airship: Kingdoms Adrift | older | $29.99 | 902 75% | 27k | $812k (exactly $811,529) | Revolution Industry |
 | 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 |
 | Dead Weight | $12.99 | 575 82% | 17k | $224k (exactly $224,078) | Klukva Games | |
 | SeaCret 1 | · EA | $39.99 | 99 61% | 3.0k | $119k (exactly $118,770) | Dalas |
 | High Seas, High Profits! | $14.99 | 165 86% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | lexy.zip | |
 | Flint: Treasure of Oblivion | $24.99 | 92 51% | 2.8k | $69k (exactly $68,972) | Savage Level | |
 | Corsairs - Battle of the Caribbean | $14.99 | 119 33% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Fishing Cactus | |
 | Terror of the Seven Seas | $14.99 | 108 78% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | Cutthroat Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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