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Should I ship a Sailing Strategy game?
Sailing + Strategy
Of 42 developers who shipped a Sailing 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.. 72 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×134 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 72 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,941) |
| Top 5% | $84k (exactly $83,958) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 118 |
| Announced | 72 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 2,354 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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
Naval Action 2019 · $6.1M 
Sailing Era 2023 · $3.4M 
Sid Meier's Pirates! 2005 · $1.9M 
Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail 2021 · $1.8M 
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 |
| | 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 |
| | Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail | older | $29.99 | 2,007 78% | 60k | $1.8M (exactly $1,805,698) | Game-Labs |
| | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
 | NavalArt | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,362 90% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | Rigidbody |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Windward | older | $9.99 | 2,668 79% | 80k | $800k (exactly $799,600) | Tasharen Entertainment Inc. |
 | Horizon's Gate | older | $19.99 | 1,213 94% | 36k | $727k (exactly $727,436) | Rad Codex |
 | Blood and Gold: Caribbean! | older | $19.99 | 1,188 59% | 36k | $712k (exactly $712,444) | Snowbird Games |
 | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
 | Sail the Seas | $19.99 | 140 76% | 4.2k | $84k (exactly $83,958) | Viking Game Studio | |
 | High Seas, High Profits! | $14.99 | 165 86% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | lexy.zip | |
 | Ile d'Or | · EA | $14.99 | 164 88% | 4.9k | $74k (exactly $73,751) | あとらそふと |
 | Terror of the Seven Seas | $14.99 | 108 78% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | Cutthroat Games | |
 | Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage | · EA | $14.99 | 105 60% | 3.2k | $47k (exactly $47,218) | Fabled Game |
 | Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon | $12.99 | 116 64% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $45,205) | Aquila Chengdu | |
 | HEXSTORM: Tears of Arcadia | $8.99 | 56 75% | 1.7k | $15k (exactly $15,103) | Tearevo | |
 | The Pirate: Republic of Nassau | $19.99 | 25 68% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Home Net Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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