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Should I ship a 4 Player Local Puzzle game?
4 Player Local + Puzzle
Of 38 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local Puzzle 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×672 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 66 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $597 (exactly $597) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,613) |
| Top 5% | $319k (exactly $319,109) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 175 |
| Announced | 66 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- 4 Player Local, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Co-Op, Local Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,646 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Football (Soccer)Poor odds
- + Beat 'em upPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + TriviaPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince | older | $29.99 | 11,712 88% | 351k | $11M (exactly $10,537,286) | Frozenbyte |
| | Tricky Towers | older | $14.99 | 12,390 90% | 372k | $5.6M (exactly $5,571,783) | WeirdBeard |
| | Puyo Puyo™Tetris® | older | $19.99 | 4,679 84% | 140k | $2.8M (exactly $2,805,996) | Sonic Team, Bitbaboon |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Puyo Puyo™ Tetris® 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,399 82% | 72k | $1.4M (exactly $1,438,680) | SEGA |
| | Full Metal Furies | older | $19.99 | 2,108 91% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,264,168) | Cellar Door Games |
| | Moving Out | older | $24.99 | 1,671 82% | 50k | $1.3M (exactly $1,252,749) | SMG Studio, Devm Games |
| | PICO PARK 2 | older | $8.99 | 4,045 88% | 121k | $1.1M (exactly $1,090,936) | TECOPARK, Gemdrops, Inc. |
| | BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition | older | $9.99 | 2,801 86% | 84k | $839k (exactly $839,460) | Frogmind |
| | FORCED: Slightly Better Edition | older | $14.99 | 1,778 74% | 53k | $800k (exactly $799,567) | BetaDwarf |
| | Biped 2 | $14.99 | 813 71% | 24k | $366k (exactly $365,606) | META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios) | |
| | Tetris® Forever | $34.99 | 304 74% | 9.1k | $319k (exactly $319,109) | Digital Eclipse | |
| | SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION | $19.99 | 294 87% | 8.8k | $176k (exactly $176,312) | RED ART GAMES | |
| | Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! | $39.99 | 22 59% | 660 | $26k (exactly $26,393) | TAITO CORP., ArcSystemWorks | |
| | Beacon Patrol | $11.99 | 70 97% | 2.1k | $25k (exactly $25,179) | Shapes and Dreams, BrutalHack | |
| | TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters | · EA | $14.99 | 35 97% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $15,740) | ArkimA |
| | Educational Family Games | $24.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $7.5k (exactly $7,497) | Crazysoft Limited | |
| | SusDoku: Clues & Suspects | $4.99 | 37 35% | 1.1k | $5.5k (exactly $5,539) | MyNeuronal | |
| | Lastbane | · EA | $3.99 | 39 25% | 1.2k | $4.7k (exactly $4,668) | Lionstone Studio |
| | Reaktor | $6.99 | 22 90% | 660 | $4.6k (exactly $4,613) | Reaktor Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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