Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Arena Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Arena Shooter?

Co-op + Arena Shooter

Of 74 developers who shipped a Co-op Arena Shooter 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.. 171 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 171 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 90% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 171 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Arena Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $1.3k → $1.1k → $3.4k → $9.6k → $1.3k → $599 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Arena Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,150)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,159,127)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 286
Announced 171
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 90% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Co-op
effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync
Arena Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Arena Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Online Co-Op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 53,160 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $720, 1 in 4 over $8.1k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 171 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SuperheroFair9 devs · median $11k · 17 announced
  2. + Boomer ShooterFair16 devs · median $6.9k · 24 announced
  3. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 32 announced
  4. + NinjaFair13 devs · median $4.2k · 13 announced
  5. + TypingLong shot16 devs · median $810 · 13 announced
  6. + Word GameLong shot23 devs · median $267 · 23 announced
  7. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds58 devs · median $515k · 127 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds12 devs · median $372k · 23 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds48 devs · median $369k · 110 announced
  10. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  12. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M Serious Sam 4 2020 · $19M Brotato 2023 · $17M MADNESS: Project Nexus 2021 · $12M Echo Point Nova 2024 · $5.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starship Troopers: Extermination $29.99 29,724 80% 892k $27M (exactly $26,742,683) Offworld
Serious Sam 4 older $39.99 15,612 83% 468k $19M (exactly $18,729,716) Croteam
Brotato older $4.99 111,407 95% 3.3M $17M (exactly $16,677,628) Blobfish
MADNESS: Project Nexus older $24.99 15,977 97% 479k $12M (exactly $11,977,957) GIBBING TREE, LLC
Echo Point Nova $24.99 7,521 96% 226k $5.6M (exactly $5,638,494) Greylock Studio
Quake older $9.99 13,962 96% 419k $4.2M (exactly $4,184,411) id Software, Nightdive Studios, Machine… (id Software, Nightdive Studios, MachineGames)
Abyssus $24.99 5,014 84% 150k $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) DoubleMoose Games
Friends vs Friends older $9.99 10,860 83% 326k $3.3M (exactly $3,254,742) Brainwash Gang
Heliborne Collection older $29.99 3,255 76% 98k $2.9M (exactly $2,928,524) Klabater
Shotgun Farmers older $9.99 9,061 93% 272k $2.7M (exactly $2,715,582) Megastorm Games
BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT $4.99 7,743 97% 232k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,127) Joeveno
Vellum $19.99 1,290 89% 39k $774k (exactly $773,613) Alvios Games
CyberCorp $14.99 351 75% 11k $158k (exactly $157,845) Megame LLC
Astroloot · EA $6.99 587 92% 18k $123k (exactly $123,094) Andreas Hager Gaming
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Last Man Sitting $9.99 357 77% 11k $107k (exactly $106,993) DoubleMoose Games
Midnight Murder Club $9.99 304 71% 9.1k $91k (exactly $91,109) Velan Studios

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