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Should I ship a Co-op Split Screen game?
Co-op + Split Screen
Of 87 developers who shipped a Co-op Split Screen 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.. 140 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 $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $12M, ×8141 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 140 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,712) |
| Top 5% | $12M (exactly $12,194,950) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 87 |
| Released games | 378 |
| Announced | 140 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Split Screen
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, Split Screen; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 175,819 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 140 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III 2015 · $284M 
Need for Speed™ Heat 2020 · $271M 
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
Split Fiction 2025 · $118M 
Human Fall Flat 2016 · $105M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Call of Duty®: Black Ops III | older | $59.99 | 157,694 88% | 4.7M | $284M (exactly $283,801,892) | Treyarch, Aspyr (Mac) |
| | Need for Speed™ Heat | older | $69.99 | 128,933 84% | 3.9M | $271M (exactly $270,720,620) | Ghost Games |
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Split Fiction | $49.99 | 78,378 97% | 2.4M | $118M (exactly $117,543,487) | Hazelight Studios | |
| | Human Fall Flat | older | $19.99 | 174,835 94% | 5.2M | $105M (exactly $104,848,549) | No Brakes Games |
 | A Way Out | older | $29.99 | 78,174 87% | 2.3M | $70M (exactly $70,333,148) | Hazelight Studios |
 | F1® 25 | $49.99 | 25,395 87% | 762k | $38M (exactly $38,084,882) | Codemasters | |
 | Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition | older | $39.99 | 27,485 88% | 825k | $33M (exactly $32,973,754) | Larian Studios |
 | Resident Evil 6 | older | $19.99 | 51,420 77% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,836,574) | Capcom |
 | Outward Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 24,636 72% | 739k | $30M (exactly $29,555,809) | Nine Dots Studio |
 | Wobbly Life | $24.99 | 33,034 97% | 991k | $25M (exactly $24,765,590) | RubberBandGames | |
 | Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | $69.99 | 11,479 93% | 344k | $24M (exactly $24,102,456) | Sonic Team | |
 | Little Nightmares III | $39.99 | 10,165 46% | 305k | $12M (exactly $12,194,950) | Supermassive Games | |
 | PowerWash Simulator 2 | $24.99 | 10,939 91% | 328k | $8.2M (exactly $8,200,968) | FuturLab | |
 | Revenge of the Savage Planet | $29.99 | 2,845 86% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) | Raccoon Logic Studios Inc. | |
 | LEGO® Harry Potter™ Collection | $39.99 | 1,464 82% | 44k | $1.8M (exactly $1,756,361) | TT Games, Double Eleven | |
 | Tennis Elbow 4 | $29.99 | 1,077 96% | 32k | $969k (exactly $968,977) | Mana Games | |
 | The Karters 2: Turbo Charged | · EA | $29.99 | 1,043 91% | 31k | $938k (exactly $938,387) | Pixel Edge Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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