Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Social Deduction

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Social Deduction game?

Co-op + Social Deduction

Of 43 developers who shipped a Co-op Social Deduction 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.. 82 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 $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×152 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 82 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 82 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Social Deduction
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: $67k → $1.9k → $23k → $5.7k → $2.5k → $3.0k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Social Deduction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,423)
Top 5% $228k (exactly $228,154)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 107
Announced 82
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply 160% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
Social Deduction
effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Social Deduction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, PvP, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Funny, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 9,176 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 31 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

Among Us 2018 · $99M In Silence 2021 · $2.8M The Jackbox Party Pack 6 2019 · $2.1M Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies 2024 · $1.9M First Class Trouble 2021 · $1.4M
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
In Silence older $9.99 9,450 75% 284k $2.8M (exactly $2,832,165) Ravenhood Games
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 older $29.99 2,343 95% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,107,997) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies older $7.99 7,792 91% 234k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,742) Striped Panda Studios
First Class Trouble older $14.99 3,103 79% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,395,419) Invisible Walls
SpyParty · EA older $24.99 1,140 77% 34k $855k (exactly $854,658) Chris Hecker, John Cimino
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Oh Deer older $9.99 2,125 84% 64k $637k (exactly $636,862) Cozy Cabin Studios
Sinister Night 2 $9.99 1,800 86% 54k $539k (exactly $539,460) Bug Inventors
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Scam Line · EA $6.99 1,088 84% 33k $228k (exactly $228,154) RavenJm
MISTERY $11.99 290 64% 8.7k $104k (exactly $104,313) Game Frontier
WISE GUYS · EA $8.99 194 90% 5.8k $52k (exactly $52,322) StonieDude
Cut That Wire $6.99 243 84% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,957) WakaStudio
SpyHunt $9.99 84 77% 2.5k $25k (exactly $25,175) Mamkalo
DreadHaunt $19.99 39 64% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Digital Happiness
Who's Next? $4.99 123 87% 3.7k $18k (exactly $18,413) HellAssociation
OCTOPinbs $9.99 45 68% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) tri-Ace, Lasengle Inc.

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