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Should I ship an Underwater Score Attack game?
Score Attack + Underwater
Only 13 developers shipped an Underwater Score Attack 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, Critical Fishing, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $4.4k, ×7.1 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 19 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $959 (exactly $959) |
| Top 5% | $4.5k (exactly $4,485) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 80% 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.
- Score Attack
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Underwater
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Fishing, Arcade
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.79 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.79 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 124 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Score Attack with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MechsFair
- + Spectacle fighterFair
- + DragonsFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CookingFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + GolfFair
- + GothicFair
- + ModernFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureFair
- + UndergroundFair
Comparable games
Death in the Water 2 2023 · $780k 
Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade 2021 · $204k 
G-Darius HD 2022 · $142k 
Fishlike 2024 · $26k 
100 hidden fish 2022 · $15k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Death in the Water 2 | older | $14.99 | 1,734 83% | 52k | $780k (exactly $779,780) | Lighthouse Games Studio |
| | Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade | older | $44.99 | 151 94% | 4.5k | $204k (exactly $203,805) | TAITO CORP., M2 Co.,LTD |
| | G-Darius HD | older | $29.99 | 158 94% | 4.7k | $142k (exactly $142,153) | TAITO CORP., M2 Co., Ltd. |
| | Fishlike | older | $4.99 | 176 89% | 5.3k | $26k (exactly $26,347) | JJJ |
| | 100 hidden fish | older | $0.99 | 499 95% | 15k | $15k (exactly $14,820) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh, Аlexandr Telminov |
 | Critical Fishing | $2.99 | 50 96% | 1.5k | $4.5k (exactly $4,485) | lazygun | |
 | Fishing Mega-Game | $4.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $4.3k (exactly $4,341) | Peep | |
 | Queen of Seas | older | $0.99 | 145 80% | 4.4k | $4.3k (exactly $4,306) | KomBits Game Studio |
 | Pipeline VR | older | $9.50 | 14 100% | 420 | $4.0k (exactly $3,990) | Everwake Games |
 | Subway Train Simulator 2D | older | $4.99 | 26 96% | 780 | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) | Daniel Viktorin |
 | Don't Drown | $4.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) | Snoutical | |
 | Reel it! World Fishing | $12.79 | 3 66% | 90 | $1.2k (exactly $1,151) | SAT-BOX | |
 | Shrimp Escape | $7.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $959 (exactly $959) | TheCyberYak | |
 | Cool Game Pack | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | COOL 2 Interactive | |
 | Reel it! Ocean Fishing | $11.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $719 (exactly $719) | SAT-BOX | |
 | Reel it! Fishing | $9.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | SAT-BOX | |
 | Wave 43 | $4.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | Alien Game Studio | |
 | Pull Out! Spotted Garden Eels | $2.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $90 (exactly $90) | N-SEED GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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