Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Automation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Automation game?

Co-op + Automation

Of 48 developers who shipped a Co-op Automation 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.. 110 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $370k, ×246 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $36k; 1 in 20 cleared $16M, ×11078 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 110 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 246.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 285% on the market, 110 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Automation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $44k → $1.8M → $185k → $557k → $190k → $460k (still earning) → $160k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Automation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $36k (exactly $35,976)
Median $369k (exactly $368,916)
Top 25% $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740)
Top 5% $17M (exactly $16,594,966)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 101
Announced 110
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 285% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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, Automation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Exploration, Sandbox
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 781,276 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $36k, median $370k, 1 in 4 over $1.6M, 1 in 20 over $16M.

3 in 10 developers made under $36k. 3 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 110 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different second tag, 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. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  11. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced
  12. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds25 devs · median $82k · 49 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Palworld 2026 · $371M Satisfactory 2024 · $282M Factorio 2020 · $201M Schedule I 2025 · EA · $173M ASTRONEER 2019 · $107M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
Satisfactory older $39.99 234,993 97% 7.0M $282M (exactly $281,921,102) Coffee Stain Studios
Factorio older $35.00 191,814 97% 5.8M $201M (exactly $201,404,700) Wube Software LTD.
Schedule I · EA $19.99 288,939 97% 8.7M $173M (exactly $173,276,718) TVGS
ASTRONEER older $29.99 118,844 91% 3.6M $107M (exactly $106,923,947) System Era Softworks
The Planet Crafter older $23.99 68,855 96% 2.1M $50M (exactly $49,554,944) Miju Games
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio
RoadCraft $39.99 13,527 74% 406k $16M (exactly $16,228,342) Saber Interactive
Craftopia · EA older $24.99 17,705 76% 531k $13M (exactly $13,273,438) Pocketpair
Hydroneer older $14.99 27,131 85% 814k $12M (exactly $12,200,811) Foulball Hangover
Necesse $14.99 24,425 93% 733k $11M (exactly $10,983,922) Fair Games ApS
StarRupture · EA $19.99 12,333 80% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,396,100) Creepy Jar
Techtonica $29.99 3,076 64% 92k $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) Fire Hose Games
Solarpunk™ $22.99 3,492 81% 105k $2.4M (exactly $2,408,432) Cyberwave
SpaceCraft · EA $29.99 2,616 64% 78k $2.4M (exactly $2,353,615) Shiro Games
Go-Go Town! $27.99 2,476 93% 74k $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) Prideful Sloth

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