Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Collectathon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Collectathon game?

Co-op + Collectathon

Of 57 developers who shipped a Co-op Collectathon 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.. 110 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×244 the market median. Revenue is up 495% on the market; 110 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 495% on the market, 110 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Collectathon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $51k → $5.7k → $4.7k → $25k → $1.7k → $718 → $6.2k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Collectathon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,422)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,173)
Top 5% $366k (exactly $365,606)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 138
Announced 110
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 495% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Collectathon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Character Customization, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 66,907 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 110 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
Temtem older $44.99 31,263 82% 938k $42M (exactly $42,195,671) Crema
A Hat in Time older $29.99 42,863 97% 1.3M $39M (exactly $38,563,841) Gears for Breakfast
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated older $29.99 14,439 94% 433k $13M (exactly $12,990,768) Purple Lamp
WEBFISHING $4.99 57,353 97% 1.7M $8.6M (exactly $8,585,744) lamedeveloper
LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame older $19.99 12,850 89% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) Traveller's Tales
LEGO® DC Super-Villains older $39.99 5,798 91% 174k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,861) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
Cassette Beasts older $19.99 8,976 94% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,382,907) Bytten Studio
Crash Bandicoot™ 4: It’s About Time older $39.99 3,985 86% 120k $4.8M (exactly $4,780,804) Toys for Bob, Beenox, Activision Shangh… (Toys for Bob, Beenox, Activision Shanghai, Hardsuit Labs, Iron Galaxy Studios)
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles older $24.99 4,334 96% 130k $3.2M (exactly $3,249,200) Exit Plan Games
Lunch Lady older $4.99 9,722 86% 292k $1.5M (exactly $1,455,383) Manic Mice
Sledding Game · EA $7.99 2,915 96% 87k $699k (exactly $698,726) The Sledding Corporation
Biped 2 $14.99 813 71% 24k $366k (exactly $365,606) META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios)
Flock Around $4.99 1,954 98% 59k $293k (exactly $292,514) Friend Shaped Games
Windswept $19.99 470 92% 14k $282k (exactly $281,859) WeatherFell
Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate · EA $9.99 931 96% 28k $279k (exactly $279,021) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Anime Shop Simulator ✨ $14.99 589 73% 18k $265k (exactly $264,873) One More Time
Rewind 99 $11.99 436 69% 13k $157k (exactly $156,829) Gunmetal Games, Real Fake Games
Super Mining Mechs $4.99 841 86% 25k $126k (exactly $125,898) Delayed Victory
Cleaning Up The Puzzle Gallery $4.99 605 95% 18k $91k (exactly $90,568) Th3GameStudio

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