Should I ship a Co-op MOBA?
MOBA + Co-op
Of 21 developers who shipped a paid Co-op MOBA 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 53 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.4 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $49k (exactly $49,480) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,292) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 119 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 9 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 53%, 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
- 9 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- MOBA, Co-op; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Online Co-Op, PvP
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 22,821 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
MOBA with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + FantasyPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Hero ShooterDead
- + SurvivalDead
- + Battle RoyaleDead
Comparable games
FOR HONOR™ 2017 · $98M 
NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER 2023 · $26M 
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III 2017 · $17M 
Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M 
Awesomenauts 2012 · $7.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FOR HONOR™ | older | $29.99 | 108,492 69% | 3.3M | $98M (exactly $97,610,252) | Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Blue Byte) |
| | NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER | older | $19.99 | 42,572 84% | 1.3M | $26M (exactly $25,530,428) | Soleil Ltd. |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III | older | $39.99 | 14,436 50% | 433k | $17M (exactly $17,318,869) | Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Shape of Dreams | $24.99 | 15,769 89% | 473k | $12M (exactly $11,822,019) | Lizard Smoothie | |
| | Awesomenauts | older | $19.99 | 11,822 84% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,089,653) | Ronimo Games |
 | Wild Assault | $14.99 | 3,861 68% | 116k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,292) | Combat Cat Studio | |
 | BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS | older | $49.99 | 832 75% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,247,750) | ILINX, Inc. |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Monday Night Combat | older | $4.99 | 912 81% | 27k | $137k (exactly $136,526) | Uber Entertainment |
 | Pennon and Battle | $18.99 | 175 69% | 5.3k | $100k (exactly $99,697) | PB Studio | |
 | Last Flag | $4.99 | 576 73% | 17k | $86k (exactly $86,227) | Night Street Games | |
 | STARVAULT VR | $24.99 | 66 89% | 2.0k | $49k (exactly $49,480) | Theia Games | |
 | The AC130 slays the zombies. | $3.99 | 377 63% | 11k | $45k (exactly $45,127) | 汪双羽 | |
 | Source Code | $19.99 | 33 60% | 990 | $20k (exactly $19,790) | Blitzball.Inc | |
 | NeverCOM | · EA | $4.99 | 49 95% | 1.5k | $7.3k (exactly $7,335) | Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co.… (Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co., Ltd) |
 | Adversator | $8.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $2.4k (exactly $2,427) | Paradoks |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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