Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Arena Shooter?

Online Co-Op + Arena Shooter

Of 55 developers who shipped an Online 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.. 156 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 $810, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 156 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 156 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Arena Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 55
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $2.8k → $748 → $3.7k → $9.6k → $2.7k → $269 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Arena Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,590)
Top 5% $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 200
Announced 156
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 95% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 36%, 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
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op, Arena Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 45,940 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 $810, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $3.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 6 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 156 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different second tag, 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

Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M Echo Point Nova 2024 · $5.6M Abyssus 2025 · $3.8M Friends vs Friends 2023 · $3.3M Shotgun Farmers 2019 · $2.7M
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
Echo Point Nova $24.99 7,521 96% 226k $5.6M (exactly $5,638,494) Greylock Studio
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
Shotgun Farmers older $9.99 9,061 93% 272k $2.7M (exactly $2,715,582) Megastorm Games
Strike Force Heroes older $19.99 4,193 79% 126k $2.5M (exactly $2,514,542) Sky9 Games
Vox Machinae older $29.99 1,177 87% 35k $1.1M (exactly $1,058,947) Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation
Vellum $19.99 1,290 89% 39k $774k (exactly $773,613) Alvios Games
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter older $19.99 771 91% 23k $462k (exactly $462,369) Croteam
Screencheat older $14.99 851 91% 26k $383k (exactly $382,695) Samurai Punk
Astroloot · EA $6.99 587 92% 18k $123k (exactly $123,094) Andreas Hager Gaming
Last Flag $4.99 576 73% 17k $86k (exactly $86,227) Night Street Games
Iron Core: Mech Survivor $6.99 352 73% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Soda Game Studio
Broventure: The Wild Co-op $4.99 398 72% 12k $60k (exactly $59,581) Alice Games
GUNTOUCHABLES $4.99 336 75% 10k $50k (exactly $50,299) Game Swing
Ironsand $7.49 142 68% 4.3k $32k (exactly $31,907) Renderise

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