Do I ship it?

GamesMechanicsSubmarine

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Submarine game?

Submarine

Of 84 developers who shipped a Submarine 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.. 126 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 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 50% on the market; 126 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 126 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Submarine
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $4.5k → $1.2k → $2.4k → $2.7k → $628 → $958 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Submarine: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $958 (exactly $958)
Top 25% $8.7k (exactly $8,683)
Top 5% $296k (exactly $296,403)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 256
Announced 126
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.20

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 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

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
Submarine
Price point
$6.20 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.20.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 17,573 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 $960, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Submarine

23 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Submarine + Nature Fair $2.4k 15 devs
  2. Strategy + Submarine Fair $2.4k 21 devs
  3. Naval Combat + Submarine Poor odds $3.4k 12 devs
  4. Co-op + Submarine Poor odds $3.0k 10 devs
  5. Submarine + Horror Poor odds $2.8k 18 devs
  6. Physics + Submarine Poor odds $2.7k 12 devs
  7. Simulation + Submarine Poor odds $2.7k 38 devs
  8. Open World + Submarine Poor odds $2.4k 10 devs
  9. Submarine + Sci-fi Poor odds $1.8k 18 devs
  10. Submarine + Naval Poor odds $1.2k 19 devs
  11. Submarine + Exploration Poor odds $959 32 devs
  12. Submarine + Adventure Poor odds $958 28 devs
  13. Immersive Sim + Submarine Poor odds $958 12 devs
  14. Submarine + Underwater Poor odds $898 61 devs
  15. Action + Submarine Poor odds $898 31 devs
  16. Submarine + Arcade Poor odds $598 18 devs
  17. Action-Adventure + Submarine Poor odds $449 16 devs
  18. Combat + Submarine Poor odds $300 15 devs
  19. Submarine + War Dead $67k 7 devs
  20. Submarine + World War II Dead $67k 4 devs
  21. Submarine + Wargame Dead $65k 10 devs
  22. Submarine + Military Dead $65k 8 devs
  23. Submarine + Historical Dead $52k 5 devs
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
UBOAT older $29.99 25,568 83% 767k $23M (exactly $23,003,530) Deep Water Studio
Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age · EA $49.99 6,109 90% 183k $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) Triassic Games
Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts older $34.99 6,664 62% 200k $7.0M (exactly $6,995,201) Game-Labs
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
Abyssus $24.99 5,014 84% 150k $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) DoubleMoose Games
Iron Lung older $7.99 10,168 92% 305k $2.4M (exactly $2,437,270) David Szymanski
We Need To Go Deeper older $15.99 4,652 86% 140k $2.2M (exactly $2,231,564) Deli Interactive LLC
Wolfpack · EA older $34.99 1,862 88% 56k $2.0M (exactly $1,954,541) Usurpator AB
The Mermaid Mask $19.99 2,776 99% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,664,767) SFB Games
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
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
Behind Glass: Aquarium Simulator $14.99 390 95% 12k $175k (exactly $175,383) BitBros Inc
Fantasy Aquarium $6.99 833 79% 25k $175k (exactly $174,680) MOON SCAPE
Static Dread: The Submarine $11.99 307 81% 9.2k $110k (exactly $110,428) solarsuit.games
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks

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