Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Choose Your Own Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Choose Your Own Adventure game?

Co-op + Choose Your Own Adventure

Of 35 developers who shipped a Co-op Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 81 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper, while revenue is up 400% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 400% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Choose Your Own Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $9.9k → $28k → $99k → $449 → $299 → $3.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Choose Your Own Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,988)
Top 5% $2.2M (exactly $2,152,323)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 99
Announced 81
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 400% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Choose Your Own Adventure
effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Online Co-Op, Simulation
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 20,307 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $480, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different second tag, 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
DayZ older $49.99 387,850 78% 12M $582M (exactly $581,658,645) Bohemia Interactive
Anno 1800 older $59.99 29,854 81% 896k $54M (exactly $53,728,244) Ubisoft Mainz
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
As Dusk Falls older $29.99 3,707 90% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,335,188) INTERIOR/NIGHT
Car Service Together · EA $19.99 3,589 79% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,323) V12 Studio
Windward older $9.99 2,668 79% 80k $800k (exactly $799,600) Tasharen Entertainment Inc.
Big Farm Story older $19.99 1,172 78% 35k $703k (exactly $702,848) Goodgame Studios
Mayhem Brawler older $19.99 836 89% 25k $501k (exactly $501,349) Hero Concept
King Of The Castle older $9.99 1,403 90% 42k $420k (exactly $420,479) Tributary Games
Caravanners · EA $17.99 712 35% 21k $384k (exactly $384,266) Akif Akdemir
The Cabin Factory $2.99 3,455 90% 104k $310k (exactly $309,914) International Cat Studios
Worlds of Aria $14.99 220 90% 6.6k $99k (exactly $98,934) Ludogram
Drunkard Simulator · EA $14.99 46 34% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) O.S.D.
BACKROOMS: We Escape Forever $6.99 35 62% 1.1k $7.3k (exactly $7,340) Ziegler Studio, 치글러 스튜디오
Good Luck $4.99 42 69% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Happybara Games
Only Out $4.99 40 95% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Shark Studio
Platform 6 ONLINE | 6番線オンライン協力異変探し $9.99 18 83% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) MFC STUDIO, SHINISE GAMES, KOSEI YASUDA

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