Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Local Multiplayer game?

Local Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence

Of 26 developers who shipped an AI Local Multiplayer 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $60. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 27 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $3.2k → $1.9k → $3.4k → $1.2k → $194k → $1.0k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,609)
Top 5% $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 122
Announced 27
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 115% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Co-Op, Co-op, PvP
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 64% positive over 12,432 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $4.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Multiplayer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  10. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  11. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  12. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $959 · 14 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 $69.99 2,583 40% 77k $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525) Tiburon
RIDE 5 older $49.99 3,368 82% 101k $5.1M (exactly $5,050,990) Milestone S.r.l.
Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted $19.99 6,898 66% 207k $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels
Combat Mission Shock Force 2 older $59.99 624 80% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,123,013) Battlefront
Little Fighter 2 Remastered $15.88 1,770 76% 53k $843k (exactly $843,228) Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong
The Conquest of Go $14.99 581 94% 17k $261k (exactly $261,276) Wolfey Studios
Tennis World Tour 2 older $39.99 202 49% 6.1k $242k (exactly $242,339) Big Ant Studios
Death Squared older $14.99 471 90% 14k $212k (exactly $211,809) SMG Studio
Unspottable older $9.99 694 89% 21k $208k (exactly $207,992) GrosChevaux
Pure Badminton $19.99 323 81% 9.7k $194k (exactly $193,703) DS SOFT
Deviation Game · EA $14.99 109 90% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Tomo Kihara, Playfool
おしゃべりキング!コミュ力診断ゲーム $8.99 69 97% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) Hyper Index, Inc.
THE WALLWAY · EA $9.99 35 5% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Daniel Seman
Chess Kingdom $4.99 45 91% 1.4k $6.7k (exactly $6,736) Pinch Games
Battle Architect: Dalasito · EA $9.99 19 52% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Dalas

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