Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Alternate History

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alternate-History Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Alternate History

Only 16 developers shipped an Alternate-History Online Co-Op game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, KLETKA, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 47 more are announced, ×9.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $7.0k, ×4.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.9M, ×1275 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 47 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 47 announced, ×9.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Alternate History
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Alternate History: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $7.0k (exactly $7,016)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $65,391)
Top 5% $1.9M (exactly $1,910,288)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 56
Announced 47
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 65% on the market, supply 55% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 34%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Online Co-Op
effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
Alternate History
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Co-op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 10,475 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $7.0k, 1 in 4 over $65k, 1 in 20 over $1.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×9.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Bullet HeavenStrong odds27 devs · median $9.3k · 38 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair31 devs · median $14k · 32 announced
  3. + TypingFair16 devs · median $5.0k · 12 announced
  4. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Point & ClickFair28 devs · median $1.7k · 34 announced
  6. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds29 devs · median $443k · 70 announced
  7. + TransportationPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  8. + JRPGPoor odds11 devs · median $346k · 16 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds72 devs · median $217k · 139 announced
  10. + World War IIPoor odds10 devs · median $188k · 18 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds20 devs · median $95k · 18 announced

All 211 pairs on the Online Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Iron Harvest older $29.99 11,682 74% 350k $11M (exactly $10,510,295) KING Art
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE older $59.99 4,892 62% 147k $8.8M (exactly $8,804,132) ARTDINK
Wolfenstein: Youngblood older $19.99 12,702 43% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,617,389) MachineGames, Arkane Studios
Call of Duty®: Vanguard older $59.99 4,172 67% 125k $7.5M (exactly $7,508,348) Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon… (Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Beenox, Demonware)
Command & Conquer™ Red Alert™ 3 older $6.96 14,605 85% 438k $3.0M (exactly $3,049,524) EA Los Angeles
KLETKA $9.99 6,374 90% 191k $1.9M (exactly $1,910,288) Callback, ln404
LIZARDS MUST DIE 2 $9.99 2,232 94% 67k $669k (exactly $668,930) the Bratans, Smola Game Studio
Unmatched: Digital Edition older $22.99 274 74% 8.2k $189k (exactly $188,978) Dire Wolf
C.A.S.T. (CHERNOZEM ANOMALY STRIKE TEAM) $6.99 777 87% 23k $163k (exactly $162,937) BRAIN DOES (NOT) WORK
Knights Within · EA older $17.99 250 95% 7.5k $135k (exactly $134,925) Indecision Labs
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
FEAR OF FAITH · EA $9.99 117 78% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) UNBREAKABLE ARK
Battlefall: State of Conflict · EA $19.99 52 63% 1.6k $31k (exactly $31,184) Kyoto Video Game Concern
Fizz Quiz $14.99 20 50% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Moon
Arcane Wilds · EA $17.99 13 76% 390 $7.0k (exactly $7,016) Avancadia
Sheep Seeker $9.99 22 100% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Isaac MENARD, Luna GARCIN, Alexander KI… (Isaac MENARD, Luna GARCIN, Alexander KIRK, Séverin RICHARD, Matthieu FARROW, François HANUS, Quentin EUNG, Mattéo GLAIRON-MONDET, Lucas RENARD, Céline TRUONG)
Skufs VS Quadrobers $1.49 139 77% 4.2k $6.2k (exactly $6,213) Dramatic Medium

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