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Should I ship a PvE 4 Player Local game?
PvE + 4 Player Local
Of 90 developers who shipped a PvE 4 Player Local 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.. 169 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×245 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 169 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) |
| Top 5% | $154k (exactly $153,688) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 90 |
| Released games | 271 |
| Announced | 169 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvE
- effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, 4 Player Local; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Local Multiplayer, Local Co-Op
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Family Friendly, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 13,809 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 169 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M 
Chronicon 2020 · $3.7M 
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed 2020 · $2.8M 
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash 2024 · $1.9M 
Zort 2024 · EA · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lost Castle / 失落城堡 | older | $9.99 | 18,417 87% | 553k | $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) | Hunter Studio |
| | Chronicon | older | $13.99 | 8,822 94% | 265k | $3.7M (exactly $3,702,593) | Subworld |
| | HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed | older | $24.99 | 3,798 90% | 114k | $2.8M (exactly $2,847,361) | Digital Cybercherries |
| | Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash | older | $44.99 | 1,429 75% | 43k | $1.9M (exactly $1,928,721) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
| | Zort | · EA | $4.00 | 11,738 90% | 352k | $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) | Londer Software |
 | Dokapon Kingdom: Connect | older | $49.99 | 801 86% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,260) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sting |
 | Tales of Graces f Remastered | $39.99 | 773 87% | 23k | $927k (exactly $927,368) | TOSE CO., LTD. | |
 | Dungeons of Sundaria | older | $9.99 | 3,061 74% | 92k | $917k (exactly $917,382) | Industry Games |
 | WE ARE FOOTBALL 2024 | older | $39.99 | 751 79% | 23k | $901k (exactly $900,975) | Winning Streak Games GmbH |
 | FORCED: Slightly Better Edition | older | $14.99 | 1,778 74% | 53k | $800k (exactly $799,567) | BetaDwarf |
 | DOKAPON! Sword of Fury | $24.99 | 354 85% | 11k | $265k (exactly $265,394) | Sting | |
 | SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION | $19.99 | 294 87% | 8.8k | $176k (exactly $176,312) | RED ART GAMES | |
 | Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate | $24.99 | 205 84% | 6.2k | $154k (exactly $153,688) | Rocket Panda Games Japan | |
 | HOT WHEELS™ Infinite Rush | $49.99 | 55 65% | 1.7k | $82k (exactly $82,484) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
 | Wendigo Blue | · EA | $9.99 | 146 90% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $43,756) | EndlessFluff |
 | Snow Bros. Wonderland | $29.99 | 40 80% | 1.2k | $36k (exactly $35,988) | Tatsujin, Bitwave Games, Toaplan | |
 | Pocket Cars | $9.99 | 114 87% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $34,166) | Gen90Software | |
 | Floorball League 2010 | $9.99 | 90 90% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,973) | Prodigium Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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