Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Co-op game?

Co-op + Mystery

Of 150 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 321 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $680; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×696 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 321 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 321 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 150
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $29k → $169k → $7.9k → $2.7k → $12k → $3.6k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 150
Bottom 30% $674 (exactly $674)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 25% $39k (exactly $38,567)
Top 5% $1.0M (exactly $1,043,256)
Developers, 2 yr 150
Released games 386
Announced 321
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 50% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 428,453 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $680, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $680. 6 in 10 of the 71 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 321 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SuperheroFair9 devs · median $11k · 17 announced
  2. + Boomer ShooterFair16 devs · median $6.9k · 24 announced
  3. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 32 announced
  4. + NinjaFair13 devs · median $4.2k · 13 announced
  5. + TypingLong shot16 devs · median $810 · 13 announced
  6. + Word GameLong shot23 devs · median $267 · 23 announced
  7. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds58 devs · median $515k · 127 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds12 devs · median $372k · 23 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds48 devs · median $369k · 110 announced
  10. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  12. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M PEAK 2025 · $72M Content Warning 2024 · $17M REANIMAL 2026 · $17M Journey 2020 · $16M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Phasmophobia · EA older $19.99 684,009 94% 21M $410M (exactly $410,200,197) Kinetic Games
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
REANIMAL $39.99 13,809 78% 414k $17M (exactly $16,566,657) Tarsier Studios
Journey older $14.99 34,805 94% 1.0M $16M (exactly $15,651,808) thatgamecompany
MECCHA CHAMELEON $5.99 78,746 87% 2.4M $14M (exactly $14,150,656) lemorion_1224
Demonologist older $19.99 18,886 85% 567k $11M (exactly $11,325,934) Clock Wizard Games
Escape Simulator older $19.99 16,496 94% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) Pine Studio
Secret Neighbor: Hello Neighbor Multiplayer older $19.99 14,865 86% 446k $8.9M (exactly $8,914,540) Hologryph, Eerie Guest Studios
We Were Here Forever older $17.99 16,256 90% 488k $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) Total Mayhem Games
Shift At Midnight $9.99 10,147 88% 304k $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056) Bun Muen
Techtonica $29.99 3,076 64% 92k $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) Fire Hose Games
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
KLETKA $9.99 6,374 90% 191k $1.9M (exactly $1,910,288) Callback, ln404
Dark Hours $9.99 3,481 81% 104k $1.0M (exactly $1,043,256) Piece of Cake studios
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Equinox: Homecoming $14.99 1,294 80% 39k $582k (exactly $581,912) Blue Scarab Entertainment

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.