Games › Co-op › Co-op + Sports
Should I ship a Co-op Sports game?
Co-op + Sports
Of 124 developers who shipped a Co-op Sports 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.. 199 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $3.6M, ×2426 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 199 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $35,991) |
| Top 5% | $3.6M (exactly $3,633,952) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 124 |
| Released games | 462 |
| Announced | 199 |
| 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 70% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, Sports; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Online Co-Op, PvP
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 259,847 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 199 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Forza Horizon 5 | older | $59.99 | 260,218 89% | 7.8M | $468M (exactly $468,314,335) | Playground Games |
| | Need for Speed™ Heat | older | $69.99 | 128,933 84% | 3.9M | $271M (exactly $270,720,620) | Ghost Games |
| | EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | $69.99 | 99,773 50% | 3.0M | $209M (exactly $209,493,368) | EA Canada, EA Romania | |
| | Forza Horizon 6 | $69.99 | 86,730 82% | 2.6M | $182M (exactly $182,106,981) | Playground Games | |
| | theHunter: Call of the Wild™ | older | $19.99 | 170,472 89% | 5.1M | $102M (exactly $102,232,058) | Expansive Worlds |
| | The Crew™ 2 | older | $29.99 | 86,533 78% | 2.6M | $78M (exactly $77,853,740) | Ivory Tower |
| | NBA 2K25 | older | $69.99 | 30,969 60% | 929k | $65M (exactly $65,025,609) | Visual Concepts |
| | NBA 2K26 | $69.99 | 25,651 66% | 770k | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) | Visual Concepts | |
| | The Crew Motorfest | older | $69.99 | 24,230 78% | 727k | $51M (exactly $50,875,731) | Ubisoft Ivory Tower |
| | CarX Drift Racing Online | older | $16.99 | 82,720 95% | 2.5M | $42M (exactly $42,162,384) | CarX Technologies, LLC |
| | F1® 25 | $49.99 | 25,395 87% | 762k | $38M (exactly $38,084,882) | Codemasters | |
| | WWE 2K25 | $59.99 | 4,108 73% | 123k | $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) | Visual Concepts | |
| | EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 | $69.99 | 2,583 40% | 77k | $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525) | Tiburon | |
| | PGA TOUR 2K25 | $39.99 | 3,791 70% | 114k | $4.5M (exactly $4,548,063) | HB Studios | |
| | Super Battle Golf | $12.99 | 9,325 93% | 280k | $3.6M (exactly $3,633,952) | Brimstone | |
| | NBA 2K27 | $69.99 | 1,698 53% | 51k | $3.6M (exactly $3,565,291) | Visual Concepts | |
| | EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 27 | $69.99 | 793 36% | 24k | $1.7M (exactly $1,665,062) | Tiburon |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.