Games › MMORPG › MMORPG + Co-op
Should I ship a Co-op MMORPG?
MMORPG + Co-op
Only 14 developers shipped a paid Co-op MMORPG 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, Fellowship, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 7 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 95 more are announced, ×14 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 10 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $30k, ×22 the market's $1.3k for a 10 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $11M, ×8547 the market median. Revenue is up 23130% on the market; 95 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $30k (exactly $30,270) |
| Top 25% | $582k (exactly $581,912) |
| Top 5% | $12M (exactly $11,513,143) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 205 |
| Announced | 95 |
| Effort | 10 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $19.99 |
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 23130% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 71%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 10 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- MMORPG, Co-op
- Price point
- $19.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 19,921 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 6 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×14 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
MMORPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootPoor odds
- + TradingPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + MagicPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + FantasyPoor odds
- + Class-BasedPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Hunter: World | older | $29.99 | 317,068 89% | 9.5M | $285M (exactly $285,266,080) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Last Epoch | older | $34.99 | 106,364 76% | 3.2M | $112M (exactly $111,650,291) | Eleventh Hour Games |
| | Fallout 76 | older | $39.99 | 78,346 74% | 2.4M | $94M (exactly $93,991,696) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Diablo® IV | older | $49.99 | 58,668 69% | 1.8M | $88M (exactly $87,984,400) | Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. |
| | Tom Clancy’s The Division™ | older | $29.99 | 76,985 72% | 2.3M | $69M (exactly $69,263,404) | Massive Entertainment |
| | FINAL FANTASY XIV Online | older | $19.99 | 78,661 86% | 2.4M | $47M (exactly $47,173,002) | Square Enix |
| | Temtem | older | $44.99 | 31,263 82% | 938k | $42M (exactly $42,195,671) | Crema |
| | Red Dead Online | older | $19.99 | 59,572 82% | 1.8M | $36M (exactly $35,725,328) | Rockstar Games |
| | ATLAS | · EA older | $29.99 | 37,119 46% | 1.1M | $33M (exactly $33,395,964) | Grapeshot Games, Instinct Games |
| | DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 | older | $19.99 | 45,155 90% | 1.4M | $27M (exactly $27,079,453) | QLOC, Dimps Corporation |
| | Fellowship | · EA | $24.99 | 15,357 74% | 461k | $12M (exactly $11,513,143) | Chief Rebel |
| | SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream | $59.99 | 2,021 64% | 61k | $3.6M (exactly $3,637,194) | Dimps Corporation | |
| | STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions | · EA | $29.99 | 800 56% | 24k | $720k (exactly $719,760) | System Era Softworks |
| | Equinox: Homecoming | $14.99 | 1,294 80% | 39k | $582k (exactly $581,912) | Blue Scarab Entertainment | |
| | Reaper Actual | · EA | $19.99 | 109 42% | 3.3k | $65k (exactly $65,367) | Distinct Possibility Studios, Inc. |
| | Past Fate | · EA | $19.99 | 81 43% | 2.4k | $49k (exactly $48,576) | Icy North Games |
| | OPG: Clan Wars | $9.99 | 101 74% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $30,270) | Anarchy Games, Street's Game | |
| | StarArc Echo | $5.99 | 149 66% | 4.5k | $27k (exactly $26,775) | 兔狐喵菇工作室 | |
| | Amaranth Source Online | $20.00 | 4 25% | 120 | $2.4k (exactly $2,400) | Qaranzo Games | |
| | Swordia | $4.99 | 5 40% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Affliction Networks LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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