Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Co-op game?

Co-op + Artificial Intelligence

Of 63 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 100 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.9k, ×5.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $5.4M, ×3621 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 100 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 100 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $24k → $1.8k → $6.9k → $6.2k → $11k → $1.8k (still earning) → $90k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $7.9k (exactly $7,947)
Top 25% $111k (exactly $110,741)
Top 5% $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 145
Announced 100
Effort 7 / 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 up 90% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Action, PvE
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 65% positive over 352,578 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 $7.9k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $5.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 100 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different setting or mood, 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

Battlefield™ 6 2025 · $620M Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M Halo: Campaign Evolved 2026 · $19M Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War 2018 · $9.8M RUNNING WITH RIFLES 2015 · $6.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Battlefield™ 6 $69.99 295,442 63% 8.9M $620M (exactly $620,339,567) Battlefield Studios
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Halo: Campaign Evolved $49.99 12,512 61% 375k $19M (exactly $18,764,246) Halo Studios
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War older $39.99 8,148 82% 244k $9.8M (exactly $9,775,156) Proxy Studios
RUNNING WITH RIFLES older $14.99 14,676 87% 440k $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) Osumia Games
EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 $69.99 2,583 40% 77k $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525) Tiburon
Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted $19.99 6,898 66% 207k $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels
Fast Food Simulator · EA $14.99 8,653 86% 260k $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254) No Ceiling Games
Cricket 22 older $44.99 1,717 81% 52k $2.3M (exactly $2,317,435) Big Ant Studios
AO Tennis 2 older $49.99 1,236 70% 37k $1.9M (exactly $1,853,629) Big Ant Studios
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
Ruins of Dawn $7.99 1,012 72% 30k $243k (exactly $242,576) 刷宝爱好者
Pure Badminton $19.99 323 81% 9.7k $194k (exactly $193,703) DS SOFT

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