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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Card Game?
Online Co-Op + Card Game
Of 59 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Card 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.. 146 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×224 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 146 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $16,639) |
| Top 5% | $336k (exactly $335,866) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 164 |
| Announced | 146 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 45% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 37%, 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
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Card Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Strategy, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 23,561 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 6 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 146 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M 
Gloomhaven 2021 · $14M 
UNO 2017 · $13M 
Across the Obelisk 2022 · $6.4M 
Gamble With Your Friends 2026 · $4.5M | 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 |
| | Gloomhaven | older | $34.99 | 13,628 82% | 409k | $14M (exactly $14,305,312) | Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive |
| | UNO | older | $9.99 | 42,019 70% | 1.3M | $13M (exactly $12,593,094) | Ubisoft Entertainment |
| | Across the Obelisk | older | $19.99 | 10,689 80% | 321k | $6.4M (exactly $6,410,193) | Dreamsite Games |
| | Gamble With Your Friends | $7.99 | 18,883 89% | 566k | $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) | TEAM GWYF | |
 | Friends vs Friends | older | $9.99 | 10,860 83% | 326k | $3.3M (exactly $3,254,742) | Brainwash Gang |
 | HELLCARD | older | $24.99 | 3,368 86% | 101k | $2.5M (exactly $2,524,990) | Thing Trunk |
 | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,201 76% | 36k | $720k (exactly $720,240) | · |
 | Nemesis: Lockdown | older | $24.99 | 732 68% | 22k | $549k (exactly $548,780) | InterStudio |
 | Witch's Apocalyptic Journey | $8.99 | 1,282 84% | 38k | $346k (exactly $345,755) | MeowAlive | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Anime Shop Simulator ✨ | $14.99 | 589 73% | 18k | $265k (exactly $264,873) | One More Time | |
 | Bogos Binted? | $5.49 | 1,134 91% | 34k | $187k (exactly $186,770) | underbadger | |
 | the cabin game | · EA | $11.99 | 362 86% | 11k | $130k (exactly $130,211) | Twisted Corridor👻 |
 | TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 198 54% | 5.9k | $77k (exactly $77,161) | Alkame Games |
 | Capote | $5.99 | 397 97% | 12k | $71k (exactly $71,341) | Luski Game Studio | |
 | Eyes of Hellfire | · EA | $9.99 | 153 70% | 4.6k | $46k (exactly $45,854) | Gambrinous |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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