Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Local Multiplayer game?

Local Multiplayer + Aliens

Of 27 developers who shipped an Alien Local Multiplayer 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.. 41 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $44k, ×94 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 41 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $1.8k → $6.9k → $1.3k → $299 → $1.3k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $2.0k (exactly $1,977)
Top 5% $44k (exactly $44,426)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 127
Announced 41
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 up 100% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Multiplayer; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Bullet Hell
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $20.00 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $20.00 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 409 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $540, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $44k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Multiplayer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
Serious Sam 3: BFE older $29.99 21,834 87% 655k $20M (exactly $19,644,050) Croteam
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 older $59.99 6,225 69% 187k $11M (exactly $11,203,132) SANDLOT
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed older $39.99 2,271 79% 68k $2.7M (exactly $2,724,519) Black Forest Games
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil older $19.99 2,385 91% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,430,284) Iguana Entertainment, Nightdive Studios
Star Control®: Origins older $19.99 2,067 74% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,239,580) Stardock Entertainment
Alien Hominid Invasion older $19.99 1,572 88% 47k $943k (exactly $942,728) The Behemoth
DG2: Defense Grid 2 older $9.99 2,704 86% 81k $810k (exactly $810,389) Hidden Path Entertainment
Ben 10: Power Trip older $29.99 320 78% 9.6k $288k (exactly $287,904) PHL Collective
Alien Hominid HD older $11.99 593 95% 18k $213k (exactly $213,302) The Behemoth
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids $29.99 90 83% 2.7k $81k (exactly $80,973) Snapshot Games Inc.
MeowGun: Hell Denizen $12.99 114 98% 3.4k $44k (exactly $44,426) SusaDeBastet
Flying Tank $14.99 97 86% 2.9k $44k (exactly $43,621) Hexage
Mimicry! $9.99 45 97% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Wayward Skies Studio
Piss Off · EA $20.00 8 100% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,800) Emmanuel Crispi
City Multi Fun $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Net Get Games
Keep It Contained · EA $5.99 11 100% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) Triarch Interactive
OBLITACRATER $4.99 12 75% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Strangely Named
Jaxx Blorgin's UFO Jam $4.99 9 100% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Wax Lion
Feudal Bros - Tonosama #1 $5.99 7 100% 210 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Sunsoft

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