Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Co-op game?

Co-op + Dragons

Only 16 developers shipped a Dragon Co-op game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Monster Hunter Wilds, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $19k, ×12 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $240M, ×160962 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 23 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $37k → $227k → $4.5k → $104k (still earning) → $19k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Median $19k (exactly $18,609)
Top 25% $227k (exactly $226,898)
Top 5% $241M (exactly $241,120,505)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 70
Announced 23
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $15.99

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 105% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 33%, 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
Dragons
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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Action RPG
Price point
$15.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $15.99.

The top 10 games average 56% positive over 232,576 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $19k, 1 in 4 over $220k, 1 in 20 over $240M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

ARK: Survival Evolved 2017 · $264M Monster Hunter Wilds 2025 · $241M MONSTER HUNTER RISE 2022 · $96M DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2015 · $34M DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 2016 · $27M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARK: Survival Evolved older $14.99 586,768 83% 18M $264M (exactly $263,869,570) Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto… (Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC)
Monster Hunter Wilds $39.99 200,984 52% 6.0M $241M (exactly $241,120,505) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
MONSTER HUNTER RISE older $39.99 79,847 84% 2.4M $96M (exactly $95,792,446) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE older $64.98 17,554 89% 527k $34M (exactly $34,219,768) DIMPS
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 older $19.99 45,155 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,079,453) QLOC, Dimps Corporation
RuneScape: Dragonwilds $29.99 28,071 81% 842k $25M (exactly $25,255,479) Jagex Ltd
WILD HEARTS™ older $69.99 10,626 48% 319k $22M (exactly $22,311,412) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Divinity: Dragon Commander older $39.99 1,976 73% 59k $2.4M (exactly $2,370,607) Larian Studios
Dragonkin: The Banished $24.99 2,239 72% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,678,578) Eko Software
CastleMiner Z older $5.99 7,939 83% 238k $1.4M (exactly $1,426,638) DigitalDNA Games
Ancient Kingdoms · EA $15.99 473 86% 14k $227k (exactly $226,898) Ancient Pixels
Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous $19.90 274 71% 8.2k $164k (exactly $163,578) Etherous Games Limited
Circle Empires 2 $12.99 266 72% 8.0k $104k (exactly $103,660) Luminous
Dragonhold $19.99 163 68% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Exis Games
Cat Gladiator $8.99 69 86% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) Funleeks Studio
Heroes of Mount Dragon $19.99 27 66% 810 $16k (exactly $16,192) RuniQ
Warsong · EA $14.99 10 70% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Windforce

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