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Should I ship a Roguelite Sailing game?
Sailing + Roguelite
Only 14 developers shipped a Roguelite 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, Rogue Waters, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×6.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $850k, ×1368 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 32 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) |
| Top 25% | $43k (exactly $42,906) |
| Top 5% | $859k (exactly $859,214) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 32 |
| 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 down 40% on the market, supply 25% fewer 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
- Sailing, Roguelite; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Combat, Action, Action Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Surreal, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,928 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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
- + Resource ManagementPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
Comparable games
Pixel Piracy 2014 · $2.6M 
Rogue Waters 2024 · $859k 
DAVY x JONES 2025 · EA · $210k 
Sea of Survivors 2023 · EA · $87k 
FISH FEAR ME 2025 · $64k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pixel Piracy | older | $14.99 | 5,713 65% | 171k | $2.6M (exactly $2,569,136) | Vitali Kirpu |
| | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
| | DAVY x JONES | · EA | $17.99 | 389 82% | 12k | $210k (exactly $209,943) | PARASIGHT |
| | Sea of Survivors | · EA older | $6.99 | 415 81% | 12k | $87k (exactly $87,026) | Nah Yeah Games |
| | FISH FEAR ME | $9.99 | 214 84% | 6.4k | $64k (exactly $64,136) | HEATHER FLOWERS | |
 | Nautical Survival | $7.99 | 179 97% | 5.4k | $43k (exactly $42,906) | Idan Rooze | |
 | Cursed Crew | · EA older | $20.00 | 70 80% | 2.1k | $42k (exactly $42,000) | Cracklewock Games |
 | Curse of Pirates | $9.99 | 121 80% | 3.6k | $36k (exactly $36,264) | Funky Parrot | |
 | Sunset Routes | older | $0.99 | 542 95% | 16k | $16k (exactly $16,097) | Renka |
 | Captains of the Wacky Waters | older | $19.99 | 20 95% | 600 | $12k (exactly $11,994) | Ceiling Games |
 | Fluffy Sailors | $12.99 | 29 79% | 870 | $11k (exactly $11,301) | Skaldery Games | |
 | Pirates: Rogue's Fortune | · EA | $12.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) | NINPO Game Studio |
 | Lord O' Pirates | $4.99 | 21 85% | 630 | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) | One Flow Man | |
 | Pirate Twist | · EA | $4.67 | 5 100% | 150 | $700 (exactly $700) | BTG Labs |
 | Submarine Survivor | $3.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $598 (exactly $598) | The Bat Flight |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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