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Should I ship a Co-op Metroidvania?
Co-op + Metroidvania
Only 17 developers shipped a Co-op Metroidvania 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, Revenge of the Savage Planet, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $15k, ×10 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×1709 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $4.3k (exactly $4,286) |
|---|---|
| Median | $15k (exactly $15,103) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $74,200) |
| Top 5% | $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 67 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 30% fewer 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
- Metroidvania
- 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, Metroidvania; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,791 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $4.3k. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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
Salt and Sanctuary 2016 · $11M 
Journey To The Savage Planet 2021 · $5.1M 
Revenge of the Savage Planet 2025 · $2.6M 
Wuppo: Definitive Edition 2016 · $2.2M 
UnEpic 2014 · $2.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Salt and Sanctuary | older | $17.99 | 20,081 89% | 602k | $11M (exactly $10,837,716) | Ska Studios |
| | Journey To The Savage Planet | older | $29.99 | 5,674 87% | 170k | $5.1M (exactly $5,104,898) | Typhoon |
| | Revenge of the Savage Planet | $29.99 | 2,845 86% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) | Raccoon Logic Studios Inc. | |
| | Wuppo: Definitive Edition | older | $14.99 | 4,949 94% | 148k | $2.2M (exactly $2,225,565) | snekflat |
| | UnEpic | older | $12.99 | 5,384 90% | 162k | $2.1M (exactly $2,098,145) | @unepic_fran |
 | Chicory: A Colorful Tale | older | $19.99 | 3,407 97% | 102k | $2.0M (exactly $2,043,178) | Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean… (Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit) |
 | Timespinner | older | $19.99 | 2,823 86% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,692,953) | Lunar Ray Games |
 | Guacamelee! 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,711 91% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,787) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Guacamelee! Gold Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,154 93% | 95k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,354) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,633 93% | 79k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,060) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark | $29.99 | 560 65% | 17k | $504k (exactly $503,832) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
 | Primal Planet | $19.99 | 629 88% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Seethingswarm | |
 | Tearscape | $14.99 | 334 90% | 10k | $150k (exactly $150,200) | NERDS TAKE OVER | |
 | Crimson Capes | $14.99 | 165 90% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | Poor Locke | |
 | Isle of Reveries | $19.99 | 87 91% | 2.6k | $52k (exactly $52,174) | desertcucco | |
 | Anima Flux | $19.99 | 69 78% | 2.1k | $41k (exactly $41,379) | Avantaj Prim | |
 | Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey and Friends | $29.99 | 31 93% | 930 | $28k (exactly $27,891) | Dlala Studios | |
 | Q2 HUMANITY | $8.99 | 56 89% | 1.7k | $15k (exactly $15,103) | liica, Inc. | |
 | Leif's Adventure: Netherworld Hero | $19.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $9.0k (exactly $8,996) | OneManOnMars Art & Games e.K |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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