Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Co-op game?

Co-op + Demons

Of 70 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 118 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $950k, ×635 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 118 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 118 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.5k → $10k → $17k → $3.6k → $31k → $5.6k → $2.1k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $41,804)
Top 5% $951k (exactly $951,471)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 182
Announced 118
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 25% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Demons
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Online Co-Op, Action-Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Dark, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 31,143 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 $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $950k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 118 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different setting or mood, 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
Phasmophobia · EA older $19.99 684,009 94% 21M $410M (exactly $410,200,197) Kinetic Games
DOOM older $19.99 155,340 95% 4.7M $93M (exactly $93,157,398) id Software
Diablo® IV older $49.99 58,668 69% 1.8M $88M (exactly $87,984,400) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Shadow Warrior 2 older $29.99 24,120 87% 724k $22M (exactly $21,700,764) Flying Wild Hog
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Zombie Army 4: Dead War older $49.99 10,028 86% 301k $15M (exactly $15,038,992) Rebellion
Demonologist older $19.99 18,886 85% 567k $11M (exactly $11,325,934) Clock Wizard Games
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes older $29.99 7,360 89% 221k $6.6M (exactly $6,621,792) Supermassive Games
Ghost Watchers $14.99 12,729 86% 382k $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) Renderise
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Painkiller $39.99 1,091 54% 33k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,873) Anshar Studios
BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT $4.99 7,743 97% 232k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,127) Joeveno
33 Immortals $14.89 2,130 72% 64k $951k (exactly $951,471) Thunder Lotus
DON'T SCREAM TOGETHER $7.99 2,314 49% 69k $555k (exactly $554,666) Digital Cybercherries
The Other Side · EA $13.99 1,181 93% 35k $496k (exactly $495,666) Vectora Games
DAIMON BLADES · EA $19.90 707 69% 21k $422k (exactly $422,079) StreumOn Studio
Paranoia Place: Escape Together $7.99 1,555 87% 47k $373k (exactly $372,734) Bloody Pixel Games
Ghost Janitors $9.99 917 87% 28k $275k (exactly $274,825) Interactive Wave Studio
Project Unknown $9.99 776 81% 23k $233k (exactly $232,567) PsychoRavens

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