Should I ship a Crime Co-op game?
Co-op + Crime
Of 32 developers who shipped a Crime Co-op 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.. 92 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $30k, ×20 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $170M, ×115672 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 92 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.8k (exactly $3,776) |
|---|---|
| Median | $30k (exactly $30,397) |
| Top 25% | $399k (exactly $398,800) |
| Top 5% | $173M (exactly $173,276,718) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 109 |
| Announced | 92 |
| 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 down 100% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Online Co-Op, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 518,682 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.8k. 1 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
Ready or Not 2023 · $398M 
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced 2025 · $190M 
Schedule I 2025 · EA · $173M 
Watch_Dogs® 2 2016 · $143M 
PAYDAY 2 2013 · $134M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ready or Not | older | $49.99 | 265,219 79% | 8.0M | $398M (exactly $397,748,934) | VOID Interactive |
| | Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced | $29.99 | 210,784 83% | 6.3M | $190M (exactly $189,642,365) | Rockstar North | |
| | Schedule I | · EA | $19.99 | 288,939 97% | 8.7M | $173M (exactly $173,276,718) | TVGS |
| | Watch_Dogs® 2 | older | $49.99 | 95,242 82% | 2.9M | $143M (exactly $142,834,427) | Ubisoft |
| | PAYDAY 2 | older | $9.99 | 445,531 89% | 13M | $134M (exactly $133,525,641) | OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetr… (OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetrack Games) |
 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 180,637 83% | 5.4M | $108M (exactly $108,328,009) | Rockstar North, Rockstar Toronto |
 | A Way Out | older | $29.99 | 78,174 87% | 2.3M | $70M (exactly $70,333,148) | Hazelight Studios |
 | PAYDAY 3 | older | $29.99 | 49,305 45% | 1.5M | $44M (exactly $44,359,708) | Starbreeze Studios |
 | Mafia III: Definitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 41,612 57% | 1.2M | $37M (exactly $37,438,316) | Hangar 13, Aspyr (Mac) |
 | Gotham Knights | older | $59.99 | 15,688 68% | 471k | $28M (exactly $28,233,694) | Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC |
 | Crime Simulator | $14.99 | 6,244 82% | 187k | $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) | CookieDev | |
 | Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek | $7.99 | 7,141 75% | 214k | $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) | Rayll | |
 | The Break-In | $19.99 | 2,040 87% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) | jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh | |
 | Alpha Response | · EA | $19.99 | 788 77% | 24k | $473k (exactly $472,564) | Ultimo Ratio Games |
 | Dirty Business | · EA | $14.99 | 906 75% | 27k | $407k (exactly $407,428) | Plan Dirty Games |
 | SWAT Commander | · EA | $19.99 | 665 77% | 20k | $399k (exactly $398,800) | Red Mountain Games, Ritual Interactive |
 | It's Only Money | $24.99 | 473 78% | 14k | $355k (exactly $354,608) | Usual Suspects Studios | |
 | Parallel Experiment | $9.99 | 702 84% | 21k | $210k (exactly $210,389) | Eleven Puzzles |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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