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Should I ship a Resource Management Sailing game?
Sailing + Resource Management
Only 18 developers shipped a Resource Management Sailing 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, The Last Caretaker, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 55 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.5k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×22027 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 55 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $45,205) |
| Top 5% | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 55 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 160% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sailing
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Resource Management
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Sailing, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Automation
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 14,181 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sailing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Procedural GenerationPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Action RPGPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
The Last Caretaker 2025 · EA · $14M 
Port Royale 4 2020 · $1.7M 
Sailwind 2021 · EA · $1.4M 
Lighthouse Keeper 2022 · $121k 
High Seas, High Profits! 2025 · $74k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Last Caretaker | · EA | $34.99 | 13,178 86% | 395k | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) | Channel37 Ltd |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
| | Sailwind | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,312 89% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,386,506) | Raw Lion Workshop |
| | Lighthouse Keeper | older | $11.99 | 336 81% | 10k | $121k (exactly $120,859) | Stratera Games |
| | 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 |
 | Profit Sea Incremental | $4.99 | 327 79% | 9.8k | $49k (exactly $48,952) | Monkey Cube | |
 | Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon | $12.99 | 116 64% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $45,205) | Aquila Chengdu | |
 | U.N.P.O.C. Vessel of Opportunity | $12.99 | 70 68% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $27,279) | Danny Ziemer | |
 | HEXSTORM: Tears of Arcadia | $8.99 | 56 75% | 1.7k | $15k (exactly $15,103) | Tearevo | |
 | The Road To Harvest: Food From Across The Ocean | $5.99 | 75 76% | 2.3k | $13k (exactly $13,478) | MuccyGames | |
 | Storm Seas | · EA | $14.99 | 19 52% | 570 | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) | Dclares Dev |
 | Dockside Dreams – Fish & Cook Simulator | $7.99 | 22 59% | 660 | $5.3k (exactly $5,273) | C51 Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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