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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.
not enough cohorts to draw
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
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
| 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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