Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Underwater

Of 51 developers who shipped an Underwater Resource Management 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 74 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 74 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $7.2k → $5.2k → $5.3k → $7.4k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $891 (exactly $891)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $41,017)
Top 5% $564k (exactly $563,736)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 78
Announced 74
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 10% on the market, supply 145% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Underwater
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Fishing, Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 26,859 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  7. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  8. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  10. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  11. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  12. + Time TravelFair16 devs · median $600 · 14 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Last Caretaker 2025 · EA · $14M Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M Aquatico 2023 · $589k
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
Cast n Chill $14.99 8,383 94% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) Wombat Brawler
Megaquarium older $24.99 3,444 95% 103k $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) Twice Circled
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Aquatico older $24.99 786 67% 24k $589k (exactly $589,264) Digital Reef Games
Scale the Depths $9.99 1,881 88% 56k $564k (exactly $563,736) Glass Gecko Games
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
Aquarium Designer older $9.99 1,086 84% 33k $325k (exactly $325,474) Sigur Studio
Darkwater $9.99 989 77% 30k $296k (exactly $296,403) Targon Studios
Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas $5.99 886 85% 27k $159k (exactly $159,214) Happy Universe Studios
Life Below $29.99 150 80% 4.5k $135k (exactly $134,955) Megapop
Joyquarium $5.99 475 90% 14k $85k (exactly $85,358) Easyfun Studio
Away From Life · EA $12.99 213 66% 6.4k $83k (exactly $83,006) Cursor Games
Oceaneers · EA $24.99 103 86% 3.1k $77k (exactly $77,219) Barrel Smash Studios

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