Should I ship a Music Co-op game?
Co-op + Music
Of 24 developers who shipped a Music 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.. 23 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×4.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $4.6M, ×3124 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 23 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $959 (exactly $959) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.0k (exactly $5,997) |
| Top 25% | $49k (exactly $49,188) |
| Top 5% | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 23 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Rhythm, Action, Arcade
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Colorful, Comedy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 44,089 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Journey 2020 · $16M 
Rhythm Doctor 2025 · $15M 
Just Shapes & Beats 2018 · $14M 
A Dance of Fire and Ice 2019 · $14M 
Crypt of the NecroDancer 2015 · $11M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Journey | older | $14.99 | 34,805 94% | 1.0M | $16M (exactly $15,651,808) | thatgamecompany |
| | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
| | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
| | A Dance of Fire and Ice | older | $5.99 | 78,688 94% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,140,234) | 7th Beat Games |
| | Crypt of the NecroDancer | older | $14.99 | 23,593 95% | 708k | $11M (exactly $10,609,772) | Brace Yourself Games |
 | Rayman® Legends | older | $29.99 | 11,420 89% | 343k | $10M (exactly $10,274,574) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
 | Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 | older | $39.99 | 4,497 90% | 135k | $5.4M (exactly $5,395,051) | Vicarious Visions, Iron Galaxy Studios |
 | Rocksmith® 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY | $9.99 | 15,615 85% | 468k | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) | Ubisoft - San Francisco, Ubisoft - Osaka | |
 | AudioSurf | older | $9.99 | 8,901 95% | 267k | $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) | Dylan Fitterer |
 | Ratatan | · EA | $24.99 | 2,449 85% | 73k | $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) | TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts |
 | HYPERBEAT | $14.99 | 381 99% | 11k | $171k (exactly $171,336) | Dreamware Media | |
 | Mimic Party | $6.99 | 430 46% | 13k | $90k (exactly $90,171) | FoliesAPP | |
 | Barbie Project Friendship™ | $39.99 | 41 80% | 1.2k | $49k (exactly $49,188) | Xaloc Studios, Casual Brothers Ltd. | |
 | Band Space | $19.99 | 46 78% | 1.4k | $28k (exactly $27,586) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | Dance Eden | $19.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $25k (exactly $25,187) | DigiEden | |
 | Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia | $24.99 | 28 100% | 840 | $21k (exactly $20,992) | Ocellus Studio | |
 | Aaero2 | $14.99 | 36 94% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $16,189) | Mad Fellows |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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