Do I ship it?

Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Capitalism

Of 43 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 73 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $22k, ×15 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $5.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×886 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 73 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 73 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $424k → $27M → $80k → $34k → $137k → $1.2k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $5.5k (exactly $5,456)
Median $22k (exactly $22,213)
Top 25% $112k (exactly $111,526)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 77
Announced 73
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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 85% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Immersive Sim
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 28,312 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $5.5k, median $22k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $5.5k. 4 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

HELLDIVERS™ 2 2024 · $1.0B Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 2024 · $27M Le Mans Ultimate 2025 · $18M Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M Storage Hunter Simulator 2025 · $2.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HELLDIVERS™ 2 older $39.99 838,901 76% 25M $1.0B (exactly $1,006,429,530) Arrowhead Game Studios
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League older $69.99 12,718 60% 382k $27M (exactly $26,703,985) Rocksteady Studios
Le Mans Ultimate $39.99 15,068 79% 452k $18M (exactly $18,077,080) Studio 397
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
Storage Hunter Simulator $24.99 3,866 78% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Raccoons Studio
Saleblazers · EA older $29.99 1,974 78% 59k $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE
NIMBY Rails · EA older $19.99 2,228 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,336,132) Weird and Wry
Wrap House Simulator🌯 $14.99 2,951 87% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games
Bookshop Simulator $15.99 1,496 92% 45k $718k (exactly $717,631) Blep Games
Ore Factory Squad ⛏️ $12.99 1,646 87% 49k $641k (exactly $641,446) threeW
Better Mart Simulator $14.99 1,238 89% 37k $557k (exactly $556,729) Exanticx Studio
Tobacco Shop Simulator $11.99 826 89% 25k $297k (exactly $297,112) Business Tycoon
Rest Area Simulator $9.99 621 85% 19k $186k (exactly $186,114) Oriseus Studios
Mall Together $11.99 415 94% 12k $149k (exactly $149,276) Business Tycoon
Pizza Bandit · EA $24.99 185 82% 5.6k $139k (exactly $138,694) JOFSOFT

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