Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Mystery Dungeon?

Co-op + Mystery Dungeon

Of 22 developers who shipped a Co-op Mystery Dungeon 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.. 40 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 $1.3k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×110 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $264k → $179 → $1.4k → $33k → $17k → $1.3k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,256)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,721)
Top 5% $164k (exactly $164,426)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 59
Announced 40
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 Dungeon
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, Mystery Dungeon; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Online Co-Op, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 4,132 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op with a different second tag, 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

Hammerwatch II 2023 · $1.4M ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition 2023 · $1.3M Goblin Cleanup 2025 · EA · $969k The Backrooms: Survival 2023 · $264k Strikey Sisters 2017 · $235k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hammerwatch II older $24.99 1,871 60% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,402,689) Crackshell
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Goblin Cleanup · EA $19.99 1,615 87% 48k $969k (exactly $968,515) Crisalu Games
The Backrooms: Survival older $9.99 881 82% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) RE:CODE
Strikey Sisters older $9.99 785 90% 24k $235k (exactly $235,264) DYA Games
PIT OF GOBLIN · EA $5.99 915 84% 27k $164k (exactly $164,426) Friendly Foe
FATE: The Cursed King older $7.99 484 93% 15k $116k (exactly $116,015) WildTangent
Meowgic $7.99 462 79% 14k $111k (exactly $110,741) Lazy Turtle Games
Chained in the Backrooms · EA $2.99 933 68% 28k $84k (exactly $83,690) Task+ Studios
Somewhere in the Shadow older $2.99 579 80% 17k $52k (exactly $51,936) Aydy, Nikolay Kulesh
SAVE · EA $11.99 91 48% 2.7k $33k (exactly $32,733) Influsion Inc.
The Maze Survivor: The 9th Entrants $8.99 62 82% 1.9k $17k (exactly $16,721) 崔资坦独立游戏Triztan IndieGame
Twilight Moonflower $6.99 26 80% 780 $5.5k (exactly $5,452) ConnectedShadowGames
Adventurer's Gambit: Dungeons of Fortune $12.99 11 81% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,287) Astana Games
FROGGLE $5.00 12 91% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,800) Dubs
Into The Matrix · EA $9.00 5 80% 150 $1.4k (exactly $1,350) theeib

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