Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Submarine

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Submarine Strategy game?

Strategy + Submarine

Of 21 developers who shipped a Submarine 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.. 23 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 370% on the market; 23 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 370% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Submarine
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24k → $105k → $3.4k → $21k (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Submarine: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $64,789)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,529)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 64
Announced 23
Effort 5 / 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 370% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Submarine
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy, Submarine; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Naval Combat, Simulation, Wargame
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,779 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $64k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

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. 23 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  9. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  10. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  11. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair785 devs · median $1.2k · 1,127 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age · EA $49.99 6,109 90% 183k $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) Triassic Games
Cold Waters older $39.99 4,603 87% 138k $5.5M (exactly $5,522,219) Killerfish Games
War on the Sea older $39.99 3,151 76% 95k $3.8M (exactly $3,780,255) Killerfish Games
NavalArt · EA older $19.99 2,362 90% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) Rigidbody
ICBM older $19.99 1,655 91% 50k $993k (exactly $992,503) SoftWarWare, K-Project
Line War older $24.99 1,076 80% 32k $807k (exactly $806,677) Studio Centurion
Silent Hunter® III older $9.99 2,544 87% 76k $762k (exactly $762,437) Ubisoft
Silent Hunter 5®: Battle of the Atlantic older $9.99 2,450 44% 74k $734k (exactly $734,265) Ubisoft Romania
Modern Naval Warfare · EA $59.99 237 58% 7.1k $427k (exactly $426,529) Wave Ops
Darkwater $9.99 989 77% 30k $296k (exactly $296,403) Targon Studios
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks
Silent Shark $17.99 125 98% 3.8k $67k (exactly $67,462) John Goering
大戦略SSB2 $59.99 36 66% 1.1k $65k (exactly $64,789) Systemsoft beta, Inc.
FULL METAL COFFIN $4.99 137 94% 4.1k $21k (exactly $20,509) Titanite, Mantle Array, Xenith
A Tale of Silent Depths $9.99 21 80% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Crit42 Studio
Uboat Attack $7.99 14 85% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) VOODOO
Submeris $4.99 19 57% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) OxygenStudio

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.