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Should I ship a Co-op Board Game?
Co-op + Board Game
Of 66 developers who shipped a Co-op Board 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.. 92 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×533 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 92 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $29,970) |
| Top 5% | $798k (exactly $797,940) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 66 |
| Released games | 230 |
| Announced | 92 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, Board Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, PvP, Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 58,663 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M 
Pummel Party 2018 · $21M 
For The King 2018 · $19M 
UNO 2017 · $13M 
Liar's Bar 2024 · EA · $10M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tabletop Simulator | older | $19.99 | 46,875 95% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,110,937) | Berserk Games |
| | Pummel Party | older | $14.99 | 46,134 88% | 1.4M | $21M (exactly $20,746,460) | Rebuilt Games |
| | For The King | older | $19.99 | 31,038 87% | 931k | $19M (exactly $18,613,489) | IronOak Games |
| | UNO | older | $9.99 | 42,019 70% | 1.3M | $13M (exactly $12,593,094) | Ubisoft Entertainment |
| | Liar's Bar | · EA | $6.99 | 48,708 89% | 1.5M | $10M (exactly $10,214,068) | Curve Animation |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus | older | $29.99 | 11,279 91% | 338k | $10M (exactly $10,147,716) | Bulwark Studios |
 | For The King II | older | $24.99 | 12,708 71% | 381k | $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) | IronOak Games |
 | Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes | older | $14.99 | 14,331 97% | 430k | $6.4M (exactly $6,444,651) | Steel Crate Games |
 | Wingspan | older | $19.99 | 9,807 94% | 294k | $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) | Monster Couch |
 | Richman10 | older | $13.99 | 11,677 51% | 350k | $4.9M (exactly $4,900,837) | Softstar Technology (Beijing) Co.,Ltd |
 | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
 | Frosthaven | · EA | $39.99 | 814 72% | 24k | $977k (exactly $976,556) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | Guilty as Sock! | $5.50 | 4,836 89% | 145k | $798k (exactly $797,940) | Demon Max | |
 | NEW MONOPOLY® | $29.99 | 531 36% | 16k | $478k (exactly $477,741) | UBISOFT, Engine Software | |
 | The Jackbox Party Pack 11 | $29.99 | 419 93% | 13k | $377k (exactly $376,974) | Jackbox Games, Inc. | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Bogos Binted? | $5.49 | 1,134 91% | 34k | $187k (exactly $186,770) | underbadger | |
 | Worlds of Aria | $14.99 | 220 90% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Ludogram | |
 | The Jackbox Survey Scramble | $9.99 | 318 90% | 9.5k | $95k (exactly $95,305) | Jackbox Games, Inc |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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