Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Creature Collector?

Co-op + Creature Collector

Of 31 developers who shipped a Co-op Creature Collector 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.. 82 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $28k, ×19 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $8.5M, ×5731 the market median. Revenue is up 1615% on the market; 82 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 18.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 1615% on the market, 82 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Creature Collector
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $4.5k → $2.6k → $42k → $2.5k → $85k → $267k (still earning) → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Creature Collector: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $2.5k (exactly $2,512)
Median $28k (exactly $27,881)
Top 25% $301k (exactly $301,392)
Top 5% $8.6M (exactly $8,585,744)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 69
Announced 82
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 1615% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Creature Collector
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Creature Collector; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Crafting, Sandbox
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 483,558 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.6k, median $28k, 1 in 4 over $300k, 1 in 20 over $8.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.6k. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Palworld 2026 · $371M Temtem 2022 · $42M WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M WEBFISHING 2024 · $8.6M Cassette Beasts 2023 · $5.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
Temtem older $44.99 31,263 82% 938k $42M (exactly $42,195,671) Crema
WILD HEARTS™ older $69.99 10,626 48% 319k $22M (exactly $22,311,412) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
WEBFISHING $4.99 57,353 97% 1.7M $8.6M (exactly $8,585,744) lamedeveloper
Cassette Beasts older $19.99 8,976 94% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,382,907) Bytten Studio
Witchspire · EA $22.99 1,849 82% 55k $1.3M (exactly $1,275,255) Envar Games
Re:Legend older $24.99 1,514 56% 45k $1.1M (exactly $1,135,046) Magnus Games Studio
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
Planet Centauri $14.99 2,102 75% 63k $945k (exactly $945,269) Permadeath
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Dinotica $17.99 746 86% 22k $403k (exactly $402,616) XA Studio
On-Together: Virtual Co-Working $9.99 1,314 93% 39k $394k (exactly $393,806) GigaPuff
MyVoiceZoo $2.99 3,360 92% 101k $301k (exactly $301,392) TRUSO
Flock Around $4.99 1,954 98% 59k $293k (exactly $292,514) Friend Shaped Games
Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator · EA $19.99 446 76% 13k $267k (exactly $267,466) To-Go Games

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