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Should I ship a Choices Matter Local Co-Op game?
Choices Matter + Local Co-Op
Of 28 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×408 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 53 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,343) |
| Top 5% | $194k (exactly $193,703) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 82 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 155% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Choices Matter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Local Co-Op
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter, Local Co-Op; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,628 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + SportsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + TriviaFair
- + Board GameFair
- + RacingFair
- + ChessFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + RomePoor odds
- + World War IPoor odds
Comparable games
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me 2022 · $4.5M 
Haven 2020 · $4.0M 
Ember Knights 2023 · $3.6M 
Sunderfolk 2025 · $2.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me | older | $39.99 | 3,778 56% | 113k | $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) | Supermassive Games |
| | Haven | older | $24.99 | 5,294 88% | 159k | $4.0M (exactly $3,968,912) | The Game Bakers |
| | Ember Knights | older | $19.99 | 6,065 93% | 182k | $3.6M (exactly $3,637,180) | Doom Turtle |
| | Sunderfolk | $49.99 | 1,890 93% | 57k | $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) | Secret Door | |
 | Tales of Symphonia | older | $19.99 | 4,368 85% | 131k | $2.6M (exactly $2,619,490) | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. |
 | Death Trash | · EA older | $19.99 | 3,460 91% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,074,962) | Crafting Legends |
 | Wrestling Empire | older | $19.99 | 3,036 94% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,820,689) | MDickie |
 | Moon Hunters | older | $14.99 | 3,919 79% | 118k | $1.8M (exactly $1,762,374) | Kitfox Games |
 | Fight'N Rage | older | $19.99 | 2,557 92% | 77k | $1.5M (exactly $1,533,433) | sebagamesdev |
 | Pure Badminton | $19.99 | 323 81% | 9.7k | $194k (exactly $193,703) | DS SOFT | |
 | Keep Keepers | $17.99 | 135 87% | 4.1k | $73k (exactly $72,860) | Thunderrock Innovations | |
 | The Left Behind | $10.99 | 116 23% | 3.5k | $38k (exactly $38,245) | Extrude | |
 | Turnip Mountain | $10.49 | 78 97% | 2.3k | $25k (exactly $24,547) | Luke Sanderson | |
 | Capy Castaway | $19.99 | 24 70% | 720 | $14k (exactly $14,393) | Kitten Cup Studio | |
 | PixelJunk™ Eden 2 | $14.99 | 23 78% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | Q-Games Ltd. | |
 | It’s Quiz Time: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ 2026 Edition | $29.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $7.2k (exactly $7,198) | Snap Finger Click | |
 | Deepest Trench | $14.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | Favor Games | |
 | The Kindling | $5.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $4.0k (exactly $3,953) | 2 Weird |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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