Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Sailing
Should I ship a Sailing Sandbox?
Sandbox + Sailing
Of 22 developers who shipped a Sailing Sandbox 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.. 73 more are announced, ×6.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $45k, ×72 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.2M, ×3649 the market median. Revenue is up 540% on the market; 73 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.7k (exactly $3,748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $45k (exactly $45,205) |
| Top 25% | $249k (exactly $249,444) |
| Top 5% | $2.3M (exactly $2,291,833) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 73 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 540% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Sailing; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Open World, Character Customization
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 23,779 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.8k. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Stormworks: Build and Rescue 2020 · $41M 
ATLAS 2018 · EA · $33M 
The Last Caretaker 2025 · EA · $14M 
Naval Action 2019 · $6.1M 
Caribbean Legend 2024 · $3.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stormworks: Build and Rescue | older | $24.99 | 54,649 90% | 1.6M | $41M (exactly $40,970,355) | Geometa |
| | ATLAS | · EA older | $29.99 | 37,119 46% | 1.1M | $33M (exactly $33,395,964) | Grapeshot Games, Instinct Games |
| | The Last Caretaker | · EA | $34.99 | 13,178 86% | 395k | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) | Channel37 Ltd |
| | Naval Action | older | $19.99 | 10,187 52% | 306k | $6.1M (exactly $6,109,144) | Bermuda Computer Club |
| | Caribbean Legend | older | $39.99 | 2,860 74% | 86k | $3.4M (exactly $3,431,142) | BlackMark Studio |
 | Fishing: North Atlantic - Enhanced Edition | older | $34.99 | 2,535 76% | 76k | $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) | Misc Games |
 | Pixel Piracy | older | $14.99 | 5,713 65% | 171k | $2.6M (exactly $2,569,136) | Vitali Kirpu |
 | Aloft | · EA | $24.99 | 3,057 82% | 92k | $2.3M (exactly $2,291,833) | Astrolabe Interactive Inc. |
 | Ships At Sea | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,479 69% | 74k | $1.9M (exactly $1,858,506) | Misc Games |
 | Sid Meier's Pirates! | older | $9.99 | 6,198 94% | 186k | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,541) | Firaxis Games |
 | Finnish Cottage Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 3,396 93% | 102k | $1.5M (exactly $1,527,181) | RANELA GAMES |
 | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
 | Caribbean Legend: Age of Pirates | $19.99 | 638 70% | 19k | $383k (exactly $382,609) | ReCon Team | |
 | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
 | Windward Horizon | $19.99 | 401 79% | 12k | $240k (exactly $240,480) | Tasharen Entertainment Inc. | |
 | Professional Ship Simulator | · EA | $36.99 | 81 62% | 2.4k | $90k (exactly $89,886) | SWE Systems |
 | Ship Explorer | $19.99 | 134 84% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $80,360) | Turbine Room Studio | |
 | ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles | · EA | $8.99 | 192 96% | 5.8k | $52k (exactly $51,782) | Tomas Sala |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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