Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Co-op game?

Co-op + Dystopian

Of 29 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 96 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $28k, ×18 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×970 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 96 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 18.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 96 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $23k → $258k → $41k → $43k → $28k → $8.8k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Median $28k (exactly $27,572)
Top 25% $69k (exactly $68,554)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 83
Announced 96
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 65% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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
Dystopian
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, PvE, Online Co-Op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 27,280 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.9k, median $28k, 1 in 4 over $68k, 1 in 20 over $1.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.9k. 6 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Anniversary Edition older $39.99 18,455 92% 554k $22M (exactly $22,140,464) Relic Entertainment
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
The Forever Winter · EA $29.99 21,376 68% 641k $19M (exactly $19,231,987) Fun Dog Studios
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
Homefront®: The Revolution older $19.99 11,393 63% 342k $6.8M (exactly $6,832,382) Dambuster Studios
Pikuniku older $12.99 10,082 96% 302k $3.9M (exactly $3,928,955) Arnaud De Bock, Rémi Forcadell, Alan Zu… (Arnaud De Bock, Rémi Forcadell, Alan Zucconi, Calum Bowen, Sectordub)
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Binary Domain older $14.99 3,567 86% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,604,080) Devil's Details
After the Fall® older $19.99 2,572 76% 77k $1.5M (exactly $1,542,428) Vertigo Games
FREEDOM WARS Remastered $39.99 1,211 69% 36k $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837) Dimps Corporation
Arizona Sunshine® VR Remake $19.99 1,203 88% 36k $721k (exactly $721,439) Vertigo Games
Cargo Hunters · EA $19.99 739 82% 22k $443k (exactly $443,178) Order Of Meta
Q-UP $9.99 1,126 93% 34k $337k (exactly $337,462) Everybody House Games
BULT: Hunting simulator · EA $9.99 869 87% 26k $260k (exactly $260,439) Nordrise
La Quimera · EA $29.99 167 51% 5.0k $150k (exactly $150,250) Reburn
Knights End $7.99 286 90% 8.6k $69k (exactly $68,554) Knight Shift Studios
Flying Tank $14.99 97 86% 2.9k $44k (exactly $43,621) Hexage
CashGrab: Refunded · EA $6.99 206 87% 6.2k $43k (exactly $43,198) Grabba Guild Games LLC

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