Do I ship it?

Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence

Of 55 developers who shipped an AI Online 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.. 97 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $12k, ×8.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $3.8M, ×2598 the market median. Revenue is up 340% on the market; 97 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 340% on the market, 97 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence
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: $2.9k → $431k → $0 → $1.8k → $6.2k → $7.9k → $5.7k (still earning) → $81k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $12k (exactly $12,142)
Top 25% $111k (exactly $110,741)
Top 5% $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 123
Announced 97
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 340% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 42,633 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $3.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 6 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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

Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M RUNNING WITH RIFLES 2015 · $6.6M EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 2026 · $5.4M Fast Food Simulator 2024 · EA · $3.9M Cricket 22 2021 · $2.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
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
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
Ghost Exorcism INC. · EA older $11.99 4,256 76% 128k $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) StudioGoupil
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection older $59.99 450 58% 14k $810k (exactly $809,865) AQURIA Co., Ltd.
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
Ukrainian Fight Drone Simulator (UFDS) - FPV drone simulator $29.99 800 80% 24k $720k (exactly $719,760) SIMTECH SOLUTIONS
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
Fairground Online $29.99 387 77% 12k $348k (exactly $348,184) CoasterGalaxyWorld
Ruins of Dawn $7.99 1,012 72% 30k $243k (exactly $242,576) 刷宝爱好者
C.A.S.T. (CHERNOZEM ANOMALY STRIKE TEAM) $6.99 777 87% 23k $163k (exactly $162,937) BRAIN DOES (NOT) WORK

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