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Should I ship a Co-op Local Co-Op game?
Co-op + Local Co-Op
Of 597 developers who shipped a Co-op Local 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.. 995 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×718 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 995 games are announced against 336 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $20,990) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 597 |
| Released games | 2,389 |
| Announced | 995 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.00 |
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 40% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Local Co-Op
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, Local Co-Op; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Multiplayer, Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $8.00 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 299,328 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 316 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 995 games are announced against 336 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different second tag, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Left 4 Dead 2 | older | $9.99 | 816,316 97% | 24M | $245M (exactly $244,649,905) | Valve |
| | EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | $69.99 | 99,773 50% | 3.0M | $209M (exactly $209,493,368) | EA Canada, EA Romania | |
| | The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth | older | $14.99 | 415,060 96% | 12M | $187M (exactly $186,652,482) | Nicalis, Inc., Edmund McMillen |
| | Cuphead | older | $19.99 | 198,790 96% | 6.0M | $119M (exactly $119,214,363) | Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc. |
| | Split Fiction | $49.99 | 78,378 97% | 2.4M | $118M (exactly $117,543,487) | Hazelight Studios | |
| | Human Fall Flat | older | $19.99 | 174,835 94% | 5.2M | $105M (exactly $104,848,549) | No Brakes Games |
| | A Way Out | older | $29.99 | 78,174 87% | 2.3M | $70M (exactly $70,333,148) | Hazelight Studios |
| | NBA 2K25 | older | $69.99 | 30,969 60% | 929k | $65M (exactly $65,025,609) | Visual Concepts |
| | LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga | older | $49.99 | 38,294 90% | 1.1M | $57M (exactly $57,429,512) | TT Games |
| | NBA 2K26 | $69.99 | 25,651 66% | 770k | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) | Visual Concepts | |
| | Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | $69.99 | 11,479 93% | 344k | $24M (exactly $24,102,456) | Sonic Team | |
| | Grounded 2 | · EA | $29.99 | 21,442 82% | 643k | $19M (exactly $19,291,367) | Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos-Montréal |
| | LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight | $69.99 | 8,728 95% | 262k | $18M (exactly $18,326,182) | TT Games | |
| | REANIMAL | $39.99 | 13,809 78% | 414k | $17M (exactly $16,566,657) | Tarsier Studios | |
| | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
| | PowerWash Simulator 2 | $24.99 | 10,939 91% | 328k | $8.2M (exactly $8,200,968) | FuturLab | |
| | WWE 2K25 | $59.99 | 4,108 73% | 123k | $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) | Visual Concepts |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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