Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Local Multiplayer game?

Building + Local Multiplayer

Of 28 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 56 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1148 the market median. Revenue is up 1320% on the market; 56 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1320% on the market, 56 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.7k → $1.8k → $4.6k → $479 → $7.5k → $5.7k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,289)
Top 5% $721k (exactly $720,660)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 113
Announced 56
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 1320% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Local Multiplayer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry 4 Player Local, Adventure, Co-op
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, Colorful, Funny
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 86% positive over 3,478 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Kingdom Two Crowns 2018 · $19M Wingspan 2020 · $5.9M Tricky Towers 2016 · $5.6M Terraforming Mars 2018 · $3.1M LEGO® Voyagers 2025 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kingdom Two Crowns older $19.99 31,259 90% 938k $19M (exactly $18,746,022) Fury Studios, Coatsink
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
Tricky Towers older $14.99 12,390 90% 372k $5.6M (exactly $5,571,783) WeirdBeard
Terraforming Mars older $19.99 5,194 71% 156k $3.1M (exactly $3,114,842) Artefacts Studio
LEGO® Voyagers $24.99 1,859 88% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) Light Brick Studio
WE ARE FOOTBALL 2024 older $39.99 751 79% 23k $901k (exactly $900,975) Winning Streak Games GmbH
DG2: Defense Grid 2 older $9.99 2,704 86% 81k $810k (exactly $810,389) Hidden Path Entertainment
Last Call BBS older $19.99 1,220 94% 37k $732k (exactly $731,634) Zachtronics
World of Goo 2 $29.99 801 87% 24k $721k (exactly $720,660) 2D BOY, Tomorrow Corporation
Ticket to Ride® older $14.99 1,057 69% 32k $475k (exactly $475,333) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
BeaterCore $9.99 322 82% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,503) Artem Arbatsky
HOT WHEELS™ Infinite Rush $49.99 55 65% 1.7k $82k (exactly $82,484) Milestone S.r.l.
Slip & Skid $12.99 141 97% 4.2k $55k (exactly $54,948) NHOGS Interactive
Dooms Hair Salon $9.99 134 89% 4.0k $40k (exactly $40,160) Slimebox
Headquarters: Cold War $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) Starni Games
Monarchy $14.99 47 78% 1.4k $21k (exactly $21,136) Brain Seal Ltd
Raise Your Tribe · EA $9.99 57 52% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Primeval Forest Studios
Kingdomino $9.99 25 88% 750 $7.5k (exactly $7,492) Meeple Corp

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