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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Asynchronous Multiplayer game?
Online Co-Op + Asynchronous Multiplayer
Of 22 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Asynchronous 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.. 62 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $10k, ×7.0 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $14M, ×9505 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 62 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
|---|---|
| Median | $10k (exactly $10,490) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,682) |
| Top 5% | $14M (exactly $14,238,040) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 62 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 70% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 30%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Asynchronous Multiplayer
- effort 5 / 10 · low · a backend with accounts and persistent turns
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Asynchronous Multiplayer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Character Customization
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 32,132 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Planet Coaster 2 2024 · $20M 
Halloween: The Game 2026 · $14M 
Rise of the Ronin 2025 · $9.8M 
Axis & Allies 1942 Online 2021 · $2.9M 
The Past Within 2022 · $2.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Planet Coaster 2 | $49.99 | 13,047 74% | 391k | $20M (exactly $19,566,586) | Frontier Developments | |
| | Halloween: The Game | $39.99 | 11,868 68% | 356k | $14M (exactly $14,238,040) | IllFonic | |
| | Rise of the Ronin | $49.99 | 6,503 64% | 195k | $9.8M (exactly $9,752,549) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | Axis & Allies 1942 Online | older | $19.99 | 4,810 78% | 144k | $2.9M (exactly $2,884,557) | Beamdog |
| | The Past Within | older | $5.99 | 14,673 94% | 440k | $2.6M (exactly $2,636,738) | Rusty Lake |
 | Meet Your Maker | older | $19.99 | 3,013 73% | 90k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,896) | Behaviour Interactive Inc. |
 | Tick Tock: A Tale for Two | older | $5.99 | 10,006 85% | 300k | $1.8M (exactly $1,798,078) | Other Tales Interactive |
 | We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip | older | $3.99 | 3,979 81% | 119k | $476k (exactly $476,286) | Total Mayhem Games |
 | How 2 Escape | older | $12.99 | 684 71% | 21k | $267k (exactly $266,555) | Breakfirst Games |
 | Eggo | $5.99 | 310 83% | 9.3k | $56k (exactly $55,707) | 天赋一饼 Meme Crepe | |
 | The Mosquito Gang | $5.99 | 152 70% | 4.6k | $27k (exactly $27,314) | Space Raccoon Game Studio | |
 | Flawed Tactics | $9.99 | 59 89% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Flawed Games | |
 | Rune Legacy Idle | $4.99 | 116 55% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | Mume Games | |
 | Codename: Terranova | $23.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $17k (exactly $16,553) | ACGames | |
 | TopplePOP: Bungee Blockbusters | · EA | $14.99 | 35 97% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $15,740) | ArkimA |
 | Super World War | $19.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $11k (exactly $11,394) | Zero Games Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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