Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + 4 Player Local

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 4 Player Local Action game?

Action + 4 Player Local

Of 346 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local Action 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.. 638 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $61k, ×99 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 638 games are announced against 197 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 638 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + 4 Player Local
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 346
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $1.2k → $1.2k → $2.7k → $1.2k → $1.6k → $839 (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + 4 Player Local: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 346
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,047)
Top 25% $5.6k (exactly $5,576)
Top 5% $62k (exactly $61,932)
Developers, 2 yr 346
Released games 1,586
Announced 638
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 down 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Action, 4 Player Local; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Multiplayer, Local Co-Op, Co-op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Colorful, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 70,072 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $5.5k, 1 in 20 over $61k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 199 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 638 games are announced against 197 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Castle Crashers® older $14.99 109,654 96% 3.3M $49M (exactly $49,311,404) The Behemoth
Overcooked! 2 older $24.99 61,956 90% 1.9M $46M (exactly $46,448,413) Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17
Party Animals older $19.99 56,043 81% 1.7M $34M (exactly $33,608,987) Recreate Games
Gang Beasts older $19.99 54,880 85% 1.6M $33M (exactly $32,911,536) Boneloaf, Rocket Science
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Wobbly Life $24.99 33,034 97% 991k $25M (exactly $24,765,590) RubberBandGames
Broforce older $14.99 49,512 96% 1.5M $22M (exactly $22,265,546) Free Lives
Pummel Party older $14.99 46,134 88% 1.4M $21M (exactly $20,746,460) Rebuilt Games
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Lost Castle 2 $17.99 10,851 78% 326k $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) Hunter Studio
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
Tales of Graces f Remastered $39.99 773 87% 23k $927k (exactly $927,368) TOSE CO., LTD.
Little Fighter 2 Remastered $15.88 1,770 76% 53k $843k (exactly $843,228) Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong
A Few Quick Matches $6.99 2,475 85% 74k $519k (exactly $519,008) Studio Bidou
Scott Pilgrim EX $28.99 471 85% 14k $410k (exactly $409,629) Tribute Games Inc.
Biped 2 $14.99 813 71% 24k $366k (exactly $365,606) META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios)
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited

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