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Should I ship an Alien Online Co-Op game?
Online Co-Op + Aliens
Of 50 developers who shipped an Alien Online Co-Op 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.. 124 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×3.0 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×2156 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 124 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) |
| Top 25% | $43k (exactly $42,557) |
| Top 5% | $3.2M (exactly $3,230,009) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 50 |
| Released games | 159 |
| Announced | 124 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 98,877 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 5 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Halo: The Master Chief Collection 2019 · $287M 
Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M 
STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II 2020 · $105M 
Among Us 2018 · $99M 
The Planet Crafter 2024 · $50M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | older | $39.99 | 239,603 92% | 7.2M | $287M (exactly $287,451,719) | 343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian… (343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian Games, Bungie, Saber Interactive) |
| | Lethal Company | · EA older | $9.99 | 411,550 97% | 12M | $123M (exactly $123,341,535) | Zeekerss |
| | STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II | older | $39.99 | 87,494 88% | 2.6M | $105M (exactly $104,966,552) | DICE |
| | Among Us | older | $4.99 | 659,003 92% | 20M | $99M (exactly $98,652,749) | Innersloth |
| | The Planet Crafter | older | $23.99 | 68,855 96% | 2.1M | $50M (exactly $49,554,944) | Miju Games |
 | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
 | Saints Row IV: Re-Elected | older | $19.99 | 57,525 87% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $34,497,742) | Deep Silver Volition |
 | Starship Troopers: Extermination | $29.99 | 29,724 80% | 892k | $27M (exactly $26,742,683) | Offworld | |
 | Serious Sam 3: BFE | older | $29.99 | 21,834 87% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,644,050) | Croteam |
 | Aliens: Fireteam Elite | older | $29.99 | 21,668 80% | 650k | $19M (exactly $19,494,700) | Cold Iron Studios |
 | Nuclear Nightmare | · EA | $6.99 | 15,403 81% | 462k | $3.2M (exactly $3,230,009) | BG Productions |
 | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
 | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: WORLD BROTHERS 2 | $49.99 | 195 89% | 5.9k | $292k (exactly $292,442) | YUKE'S | |
 | Sketchy's Contract | $8.99 | 1,027 83% | 31k | $277k (exactly $276,982) | Dimensionless Games | |
 | UNDERWARD | $9.99 | 593 73% | 18k | $178k (exactly $177,722) | INTENSE | |
 | MARVEL MaXimum Collection | $24.99 | 111 76% | 3.3k | $83k (exactly $83,217) | Limited Run Games | |
 | Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids | $29.99 | 90 83% | 2.7k | $81k (exactly $80,973) | Snapshot Games Inc. | |
 | Unsafe Express | $11.99 | 222 59% | 6.7k | $80k (exactly $79,853) | OnSkull Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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