Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Class-Based
Should I ship an Online Co-Op Class-Based game?
Online Co-Op + Class-Based
Of 53 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Class-Based 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.. 164 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $6.4M, ×4315 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 164 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $807 (exactly $807) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.4k (exactly $3,356) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,881) |
| Top 5% | $6.5M (exactly $6,463,164) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 53 |
| Released games | 155 |
| Announced | 164 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 35%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Class-Based
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Class-Based; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 91,295 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 164 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Baldur's Gate 3 | older | $59.99 | 755,010 96% | 23M | $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) | Larian Studios |
| | Marathon | $39.99 | 44,919 81% | 1.3M | $54M (exactly $53,889,324) | Bungie | |
| | Starship Troopers: Extermination | $29.99 | 29,724 80% | 892k | $27M (exactly $26,742,683) | Offworld | |
| | Killing Floor | older | $19.99 | 39,850 95% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,898,045) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5 | older | $59.99 | 9,375 93% | 281k | $17M (exactly $16,872,188) | SANDLOT |
| | Tiny Tina's Wonderlands | older | $29.99 | 17,779 70% | 533k | $16M (exactly $15,995,766) | Gearbox Software |
| | Gloomhaven | older | $34.99 | 13,628 82% | 409k | $14M (exactly $14,305,312) | Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive |
| | Risk of Rain Returns | older | $14.99 | 24,795 89% | 744k | $11M (exactly $11,150,312) | Hopoo Games |
| | Onward | $24.99 | 8,621 69% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,463,164) | Downpour Interactive | |
| | Solasta II | · EA | $39.99 | 2,931 75% | 88k | $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
| | The Midnight Walkers | · EA | $19.99 | 1,479 54% | 44k | $887k (exactly $886,956) | Oneway Ticket Studio |
| | Dimraeth | · EA | $21.99 | 889 80% | 27k | $586k (exactly $586,473) | Mudtek |
| | Serpent's Gaze | · EA | $14.99 | 737 88% | 22k | $331k (exactly $331,429) | Feeble Minds |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks | $19.99 | 493 85% | 15k | $296k (exactly $295,652) | Caged Element | |
| | Expeditions: Samurai | · EA | $29.99 | 267 59% | 8.0k | $240k (exactly $240,220) | Campfire Cabal |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.