Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Local Multiplayer game?

Local Multiplayer + Cats

Of 24 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 30 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $17k, ×38 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 30 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $52k → $2.7k → $1.4k → $2.5k → $2.4k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,395)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 5% $18k (exactly $17,988)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 65
Announced 30
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 80% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 Multiplayer
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 Multiplayer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Local Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Cartoon, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 230 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 $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Multiplayer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer 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
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity older $9.99 824 83% 25k $247k (exactly $246,953) 2Play, Prasius
Quilts and Cats of Calico older $19.99 405 93% 12k $243k (exactly $242,878) Monster Couch
Exploding Kittens® 2 older $12.49 447 75% 13k $167k (exactly $167,491) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Meow Motors older $14.99 187 87% 5.6k $84k (exactly $84,094) ArtVostok
Aqua Kitty - Milk Mine Defender older $6.99 294 86% 8.8k $62k (exactly $61,652) TIKIPOD, Electric Cafe
Cats Love Boxes older $3.99 432 97% 13k $52k (exactly $51,710) Devcats
Pix the Cat older $4.99 204 85% 6.1k $31k (exactly $30,539) Pastagames
DreamWorks Gabby’s Dollhouse: Ready to Party $39.99 16 100% 480 $19k (exactly $19,195) Infinigon Games
Lunars · EA $14.99 40 97% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Anubis Arts
Dad's Coming $13.99 31 100% 930 $13k (exactly $13,011) Cold Lahmen
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
Cat & Capy · EA $4.99 30 100% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Matato Games
女神試煉 Quest of Goddess $4.99 18 94% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) DNAXCAT CO., LTD.
Cats Together $4.99 18 88% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) Alzakprod.Games, RAVEnGULL
The Fat Cat Fest $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) The Yippies Dev

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