Games › Survival › Survival + Sailing
Should I ship a Sailing Survival game?
Survival + Sailing
Of 24 developers who shipped a Sailing Survival 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.. 63 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×22027 the market median. Revenue is up 365% on the market; 63 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.6k (exactly $6,593) |
| Top 25% | $156k (exactly $156,496) |
| Top 5% | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 63 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 365% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Survival, Sailing; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 67,503 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Social DeductionFair
- + Word GameFair
- + CatsFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + DogsFair
- + Martial ArtsLong shot
- + Boomer ShooterLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Windrose 2026 · EA · $43M 
Stormworks: Build and Rescue 2020 · $41M 
ATLAS 2018 · EA · $33M 
The Last Caretaker 2025 · EA · $14M 
Aloft 2025 · EA · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Windrose | · EA | $29.99 | 47,893 86% | 1.4M | $43M (exactly $43,089,332) | Kraken Express |
| | 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 |
| | Aloft | · EA | $24.99 | 3,057 82% | 92k | $2.3M (exactly $2,291,833) | Astrolabe Interactive Inc. |
 | Sailwind | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,312 89% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,386,506) | Raw Lion Workshop |
 | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
 | Salt | older | $14.99 | 1,959 75% | 59k | $881k (exactly $880,962) | Lavaboots Studios |
 | Windbound | older | $19.99 | 1,026 60% | 31k | $615k (exactly $615,292) | 5 Lives Studios |
 | Breakwaters: Crystal Tides | · EA older | $19.99 | 866 63% | 26k | $519k (exactly $519,340) | Soaring Pixels Games |
 | Forgotten Seas | $24.99 | 475 75% | 14k | $356k (exactly $356,108) | Pangea Game Studios | |
 | Captain Bones : A Pirate's Journey | $14.99 | 348 79% | 10k | $156k (exactly $156,496) | World of Poly | |
 | Nautical Survival | $7.99 | 179 97% | 5.4k | $43k (exactly $42,906) | Idan Rooze | |
 | Sailing alone:Aftermath | · EA | $18.99 | 67 68% | 2.0k | $38k (exactly $38,170) | MLStudio |
 | U.N.P.O.C. Vessel of Opportunity | $12.99 | 70 68% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $27,279) | Danny Ziemer | |
 | Mystical Maritime Adventure | $8.99 | 54 77% | 1.6k | $15k (exactly $14,564) | Ze_Yu, 烟熏渔 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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