Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Co-op game?

Co-op + Cats

Of 47 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 83 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $900k, ×603 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 83 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 83 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $112k → $29k → $43k → $8.6k → $5.4k → $3.0k (still earning) → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,397)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,011)
Top 5% $903k (exactly $902,639)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 111
Announced 83
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 55% on the market, supply 120% 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.

Co-op
effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Action, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,049 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $900k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 7 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different setting or mood, 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. + AutomationPoor odds48 devs · median $369k · 110 announced
  10. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  12. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Garfield Kart - Furious Racing older $14.99 10,475 88% 314k $4.7M (exactly $4,710,608) Artefacts Studio
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales $59.99 1,687 78% 51k $3.0M (exactly $3,036,094) Square Enix, Claytechworks
Cat Mail Co. $14.99 6,289 92% 189k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) Maracas Studio
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
Animal Shelter 2 $24.99 1,204 79% 36k $903k (exactly $902,639) Games Incubator
Portal Dungeon older $14.99 995 88% 30k $447k (exactly $447,452) Dusk Dog Studio
Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity older $9.99 824 83% 25k $247k (exactly $246,953) 2Play, Prasius
Tap Tap Loot $6.99 815 76% 24k $171k (exactly $170,906) Turtle Knight Games
Exploding Kittens® 2 older $12.49 447 75% 13k $167k (exactly $167,491) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Meowgic $7.99 462 79% 14k $111k (exactly $110,741) Lazy Turtle Games
NiuMa $5.99 263 91% 7.9k $47k (exactly $47,261) Game Star
Purrrifiers: Cleaning Chaos $12.99 93 47% 2.8k $36k (exactly $36,242) Rubens Games, FreeMind S.A.
Puzzling Places - 3D Jigsaw Sim $7.99 150 98% 4.5k $36k (exactly $35,955) Realities.io Inc
Ultra Mega Cats · EA $11.99 70 74% 2.1k $25k (exactly $25,179) Fallen Leaf, Unseen Silence, Black Drak… (Fallen Leaf, Unseen Silence, Black Drakkar Games)
DreamWorks Gabby’s Dollhouse: Ready to Party $39.99 16 100% 480 $19k (exactly $19,195) Infinigon Games

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