Games › Submarine › Submarine + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Submarine game?
Submarine + Sci-fi
Only 18 developers shipped a Sci-fi Submarine 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, Darkwater, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×472 the market median. Revenue is up 670% on the market; 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) |
| Top 5% | $296k (exactly $296,403) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 34 |
| 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 up 670% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Submarine; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 2,133 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Submarine with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NatureFair
- + StrategyFair
- + Naval CombatPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Barotrauma 2023 · $65M 
Iron Lung 2022 · $2.4M 
Under The Waves 2023 · $1.5M 
STASIS: BONE TOTEM 2023 · $1.2M 
Model Builder: Complete Edition 2022 · $634k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Barotrauma | older | $34.99 | 61,905 94% | 1.9M | $65M (exactly $64,981,678) | FakeFish, Undertow Games |
| | Iron Lung | older | $7.99 | 10,168 92% | 305k | $2.4M (exactly $2,437,270) | David Szymanski |
| | Under The Waves | older | $29.99 | 1,683 77% | 50k | $1.5M (exactly $1,514,195) | Parallel Studio |
| | STASIS: BONE TOTEM | older | $19.99 | 2,025 93% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
| | Model Builder: Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,058 74% | 32k | $634k (exactly $634,483) | Moonlit S.A. |
 | Darkwater | $9.99 | 989 77% | 30k | $296k (exactly $296,403) | Targon Studios | |
 | Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival | $9.99 | 826 77% | 25k | $248k (exactly $247,552) | RetroStyle Games | |
 | Submarine Titans | older | $4.99 | 348 86% | 10k | $52k (exactly $52,096) | Ellipse Studios |
 | AquaNox | older | $4.99 | 287 76% | 8.6k | $43k (exactly $42,964) | Massive Development |
 | Swirl W@tch | older | $14.99 | 54 98% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $24,284) | Sleeper Games |
 | FULL METAL COFFIN | $4.99 | 137 94% | 4.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | Titanite, Mantle Array, Xenith | |
 | CRUSH DEPTH | $7.99 | 49 97% | 1.5k | $12k (exactly $11,745) | Earth Giant | |
 | The Abyss Below | $4.99 | 58 81% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) | Broken Relay | |
 | A Tale of Silent Depths | $9.99 | 21 80% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | Crit42 Studio | |
 | Submeris | $4.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | OxygenStudio | |
 | Deep Sea Idle: Infinity Abyss | $4.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | HIGHKICKSTUDIO | |
 | Silent Paradise Anthology | $4.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | Dreamnoid | |
 | 7821 Akuji | $8.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | CatBiteStudios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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