Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Cooking game?

Co-op + Cooking

Of 76 developers who shipped a Co-op Cooking 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.. 177 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $14k, ×9.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×886 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 177 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 177 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 76
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $5.4k → $4.4k → $17k → $18k → $26k (still earning) → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 76
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,794)
Median $14k (exactly $14,032)
Top 25% $95k (exactly $95,336)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065)
Developers, 2 yr 76
Released games 144
Announced 177
Effort 7 / 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 up 225% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Cooking; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Online Co-Op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 28,805 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $14k, 1 in 4 over $95k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 7 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 177 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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

Overcooked! 2 2018 · $46M PlateUp! 2022 · $11M Cooking Simulator 2019 · $11M Overcooked 2016 · $6.9M Overcooked! All You Can Eat 2021 · $6.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Overcooked! 2 older $24.99 61,956 90% 1.9M $46M (exactly $46,448,413) Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17
PlateUp! older $19.99 18,500 94% 555k $11M (exactly $11,094,450) It's happening
Cooking Simulator older $19.99 17,837 84% 535k $11M (exactly $10,696,849) Big Cheese Studio
Overcooked older $16.99 13,528 89% 406k $6.9M (exactly $6,895,222) Ghost Town Games Ltd.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat older $39.99 5,744 73% 172k $6.9M (exactly $6,891,077) Team17 Digital, Ghost Town Games
Ale & Tale Tavern older $14.99 8,692 88% 261k $3.9M (exactly $3,908,792) Scienart Games
Fast Food Simulator · EA $14.99 8,653 86% 260k $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254) No Ceiling Games
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Fae Farm older $29.99 2,741 78% 82k $2.5M (exactly $2,466,078) Phoenix Labs
Wrap House Simulator🌯 $14.99 2,951 87% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games
Restaurats $19.90 1,640 89% 49k $979k (exactly $979,080) toR Studio
Cooking Simulator 2: Better Together $24.99 816 49% 24k $612k (exactly $611,755) Big Cheese Studio
Boba Cafe Simulator $15.99 1,192 92% 36k $572k (exactly $571,802) Caikemi
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Vacation Cafe Simulator $19.99 700 88% 21k $420k (exactly $419,790) Alice Games
Parisian Bistro Simulator · EA $19.99 429 93% 13k $257k (exactly $257,271) Quark Studios

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