Do I ship it?

Games › Local Co-Op › Local Co-Op + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Local Co-Op game?

Local Co-Op + Cats

Of 22 developers who shipped a Cat Local 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.. 31 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×774 the market median. Revenue is up 235% on the market; 31 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 31 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $52k → $43k → $4.5k → $2.7k → $10k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,398)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,994)
Top 5% $368k (exactly $367,616)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 53
Announced 31
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 235% on the market, supply 75% more 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.

Local Co-Op
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Co-op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Cartoony, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 3,625 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Co-Op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  2. + LGBTQ+Fair11 devs · median $14k · 12 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair16 devs · median $11k · 15 announced
  4. + TriviaFair12 devs · median $7.5k · 13 announced
  5. + Action RPGFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  6. + ModernFair11 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  7. + Dark FantasyFair40 devs · median $2.7k · 47 announced
  8. + Board GameFair35 devs · median $2.4k · 41 announced
  9. + Dungeon CrawlerFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  10. + MedievalFair46 devs · median $1.8k · 52 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair22 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 9 announced

All 151 pairs on the Local Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales 2026 · $3.0M Cat Quest II 2019 · $2.6M Cat Quest III 2024 · $1.9M CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k
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
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales $59.99 1,687 78% 51k $3.0M (exactly $3,036,094) Square Enix, Claytechworks
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
Cat Quest III older $19.99 3,108 94% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,863,868) The Gentlebros
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar $19.99 613 97% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) Abandoned Sheep
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited
Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity older $9.99 824 83% 25k $247k (exactly $246,953) 2Play, Prasius
Tasty Planet Forever older $12.99 352 87% 11k $137k (exactly $137,174) Dingo Games
River Tails: Stronger Together older $19.99 186 80% 5.6k $112k (exactly $111,544) Kid Onion Studio
DreamWorks Gabby’s Dollhouse: Ready to Party $39.99 16 100% 480 $19k (exactly $19,195) Infinigon Games
Dad's Coming $13.99 31 100% 930 $13k (exactly $13,011) Cold Lahmen
Pawbay: Cat Chaos $19.99 20 70% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) COMMANDO PANDA
Fofumia $15.99 21 85% 630 $10k (exactly $10,074) Actoon Studio
Ritual Party · EA $11.99 28 89% 840 $10k (exactly $10,072) Hologram Monster
Yarn Guardians $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) pentapaw studios
Paws Against the World $6.99 28 78% 840 $5.9k (exactly $5,872) GoldenGod Games

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