Games › Co-op › Co-op + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Co-op game?
Co-op + Modern
Of 47 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 72 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $33k, ×22 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $16M, ×10833 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 72 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.4k (exactly $2,422) |
|---|---|
| Median | $33k (exactly $32,984) |
| Top 25% | $473k (exactly $472,564) |
| Top 5% | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 124 |
| Announced | 72 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 145% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 64% positive over 472,208 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.5k. 5 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different setting or mood, 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
Battlefield™ 6 2025 · $620M 
Ready or Not 2023 · $398M 
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 2025 · $209M 
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2023 · $78M 
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II 2022 · $56M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Battlefield™ 6 | $69.99 | 295,442 63% | 8.9M | $620M (exactly $620,339,567) | Battlefield Studios | |
| | Ready or Not | older | $49.99 | 265,219 79% | 8.0M | $398M (exactly $397,748,934) | VOID Interactive |
| | EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | $69.99 | 99,773 50% | 3.0M | $209M (exactly $209,493,368) | EA Canada, EA Romania | |
| | Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® | older | $59.99 | 43,229 79% | 1.3M | $78M (exactly $77,799,231) | Infinity Ward, Beenox, High Moon Studio… (Infinity Ward, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Raven Software) |
| | Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II | older | $69.99 | 26,543 45% | 796k | $56M (exactly $55,732,337) | Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Beenox,… (Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Beenox, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Demonware, Toys for Bob) |
 | Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III | older | $69.99 | 20,701 47% | 621k | $43M (exactly $43,465,890) | Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Infinity… (Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Beenox, Raven Software, High Moon Studios, Demonware) |
 | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
 | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
 | Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007) | older | $19.99 | 22,140 93% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,277,358) | Infinity Ward |
 | Car For Sale Simulator | $16.99 | 20,229 78% | 607k | $10M (exactly $10,310,721) | Red Axe Games | |
 | Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE | $39.99 | 7,662 70% | 230k | $9.2M (exactly $9,192,101) | Netmarble Neo | |
 | Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition | $39.99 | 5,855 86% | 176k | $7.0M (exactly $7,024,244) | Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. | |
 | ICBM: Escalation | $29.99 | 1,248 86% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,122,826) | SoftWarWare | |
 | Car Dealership Simulator 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 2,374 69% | 71k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,588) | Quadfix Games |
 | Tennis Elbow 4 | $29.99 | 1,077 96% | 32k | $969k (exactly $968,977) | Mana Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.