Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Platformer?

Co-op + Platformer

Of 270 developers who shipped a Co-op Platformer 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.. 455 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×284 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 455 games are announced against 178 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 455 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 270
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.7k → $11k → $2.4k → $1.6k → $3.6k → $2.7k → $748 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 270
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,887)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,266)
Top 5% $425k (exactly $424,998)
Developers, 2 yr 270
Released games 887
Announced 455
Effort 7 / 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 flat on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Online Co-Op
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 424,658 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 108 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 455 games are announced against 178 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terraria older $9.99 1,240,388 97% 37M $372M (exactly $371,744,284) Re-Logic
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Cuphead older $19.99 198,790 96% 6.0M $119M (exactly $119,214,363) Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc.
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Little Nightmares II older $29.99 50,280 92% 1.5M $45M (exactly $45,236,916) Tarsier Studios
Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition older $29.99 47,176 94% 1.4M $42M (exactly $42,444,247) Thunder Lotus
A Hat in Time older $29.99 42,863 97% 1.3M $39M (exactly $38,563,841) Gears for Breakfast
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Little Nightmares III $39.99 10,165 46% 305k $12M (exactly $12,194,950) Supermassive Games
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Farever · EA $19.99 8,968 75% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) Shiro Games
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Revenge of the Savage Planet $29.99 2,845 86% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.
POPUCOM $19.99 3,432 87% 103k $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) Hypergryph
The Break-In $19.99 2,040 87% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games

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