Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Cats

Of 25 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $8.4k, ×5.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×479 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 66 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 66 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $11k → $25k → $5.0k → $5.0k (still earning) → $36k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $3.9k (exactly $3,897)
Median $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 25% $40k (exactly $39,916)
Top 5% $718k (exactly $717,631)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 55
Announced 66
Effort 8 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 215% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Simulation, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 10,090 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.9k, median $8.4k, 1 in 4 over $39k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.9k. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

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
Cat Mail Co. $14.99 6,289 92% 189k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) Maracas Studio
Bookshop Simulator $15.99 1,496 92% 45k $718k (exactly $717,631) Blep Games
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
Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens older $9.99 318 80% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Chris McFarland
NoSlack Pets: Lo-Fi Paws $5.99 385 97% 12k $69k (exactly $69,184) Lynkpin Game
NiuMa $5.99 263 91% 7.9k $47k (exactly $47,261) Game Star
Jumping Jazz Cats $8.99 148 74% 4.4k $40k (exactly $39,916) Le Catnip Collective
Purrrifiers: Cleaning Chaos $12.99 93 47% 2.8k $36k (exactly $36,242) Rubens Games, FreeMind S.A.
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)
Cat Gladiator $8.99 69 86% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) Funleeks Studio

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