Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Co-op game?

Co-op + Psychological

Of 43 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 79 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 $4.0k, ×2.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×611 the market median. Revenue is up 1455% on the market; 79 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 1455% on the market, 79 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $21k → $29k → $897 → $1.4k → $27k → $11k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $4.0k (exactly $3,953)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $52,322)
Top 5% $916k (exactly $915,883)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 103
Announced 79
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 up 1455% on the market, supply 60% 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
Psychological
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, Adventure, PvP
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 24,853 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $52k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 $69.99 4,344 37% 130k $9.1M (exactly $9,121,097) Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High… (Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Activision Shanghai, Demonware)
Blair Witch older $29.99 6,489 78% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,838,153) Bloober Team SA
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me older $39.99 3,778 56% 113k $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) Supermassive Games
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope older $19.99 7,202 74% 216k $4.3M (exactly $4,319,039) Supermassive Games
Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek $7.99 7,141 75% 214k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) Rayll
Among Us 3D $9.99 3,056 72% 92k $916k (exactly $915,883) Schell Games, Innersloth
The Lantern of the Laughless Saint · EA $19.99 1,460 89% 44k $876k (exactly $875,562) NerveLabs
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Fear Therapy · EA older $4.99 3,630 68% 109k $543k (exactly $543,411) Black Flag Studios
WE ARE SO DEAD · EA $7.99 672 73% 20k $161k (exactly $161,078) REAL PLAYERS
CUFFBUST $9.99 508 52% 15k $152k (exactly $152,248) Two Star Games
Climb The Backrooms $4.99 1,013 81% 30k $152k (exactly $151,646) LovDEV
SIDE EFFECTS $4.99 858 83% 26k $128k (exactly $128,443) hirohun, Mr.Pootsley, Jaybooty, Lofar42
The Anomaly Project $7.99 531 81% 16k $127k (exactly $127,281) Kekdot

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