Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Time Management game?

Co-op + Time Management

Of 107 developers who shipped a Co-op Time Management 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.. 275 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.5k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 275 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 275 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $449 → $46k → $17k → $17k → $1.7k → $6.8k (still earning) → $624 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $779 (exactly $779)
Median $5.5k (exactly $5,456)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,045)
Top 5% $566k (exactly $565,692)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 201
Announced 275
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 20% on the market, supply 55% 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
Time Management
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, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Simulation, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 341,825 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $780, median $5.5k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 6 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 275 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M PEAK 2025 · $72M Content Warning 2024 · $17M Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
Parkitect older $29.99 6,809 94% 204k $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) Texel Raptor
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship older $29.99 3,642 77% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,276,707) KT Racing
gogh: Focus with Your Avatar $11.99 4,811 91% 144k $1.7M (exactly $1,730,517) ambr
BOMBANANA! $7.99 2,360 96% 71k $566k (exactly $565,692) Lefto Studio
Data Center $8.99 916 76% 27k $247k (exactly $247,045) Waseku
SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure $14.99 517 70% 16k $232k (exactly $232,495) kopiforge
Aquapark Tycoon · EA $22.99 278 89% 8.3k $192k (exactly $191,737) Boxelware
Rest Area Simulator $9.99 621 85% 19k $186k (exactly $186,114) Oriseus Studios

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