Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Co-op game?

Co-op + Detective

Of 52 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 81 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×1718 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 81 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 81 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $220k → $201k → $4.9k → $899 → $4.2k → $1.3k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $57k (exactly $57,192)
Top 5% $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 134
Announced 81
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 135% on the market, supply 40% 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
Detective
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Investigation, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 33,825 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $57k, 1 in 20 over $2.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 6 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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

Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M Batman™: Arkham Origins 2013 · $27M Demonologist 2023 · $11M We Were Here Forever 2022 · $8.8M Ghost Watchers 2025 · $5.7M
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
Batman™: Arkham Origins older $19.99 45,536 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,307,939) WB Games Montreal, Splash Damage
Demonologist older $19.99 18,886 85% 567k $11M (exactly $11,325,934) Clock Wizard Games
We Were Here Forever older $17.99 16,256 90% 488k $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) Total Mayhem Games
Ghost Watchers $14.99 12,729 86% 382k $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) Renderise
Operation: Tango older $19.99 7,167 86% 215k $4.3M (exactly $4,298,050) Clever Plays
Shift At Midnight $9.99 10,147 88% 304k $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056) Bun Muen
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
THE 4 SINS older $9.99 3,377 23% 101k $1.0M (exactly $1,012,087) 奇门互娱
SpyParty · EA older $24.99 1,140 77% 34k $855k (exactly $854,658) Chris Hecker, John Cimino
Equinox: Homecoming $14.99 1,294 80% 39k $582k (exactly $581,912) Blue Scarab Entertainment
Sinister Night 2 $9.99 1,800 86% 54k $539k (exactly $539,460) Bug Inventors
The Other Side · EA $13.99 1,181 93% 35k $496k (exactly $495,666) Vectora Games
Project Unknown $9.99 776 81% 23k $233k (exactly $232,567) PsychoRavens
Parallel Experiment $9.99 702 84% 21k $210k (exactly $210,389) Eleven Puzzles
Lost Lullabies: The Orphanage Chronicles $10.99 445 70% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) Pugsy Studios
SEVERANCE · EA $9.99 459 70% 14k $138k (exactly $137,562) Sykes Games

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