Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Co-op game?

Co-op + Underground

Of 22 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $290; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×84 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $1.8k → $2.8k → $1.6k (still earning) → $20k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $281 (exactly $281)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,247)
Top 5% $126k (exactly $125,898)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 53
Announced 43
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 65% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,163 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $290, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $8.2k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $290. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M Never Return 2021 · EA · $610k Trolley Problem, Inc. 2022 · $417k Dirty Business 2026 · EA · $407k Mining Mechs 2023 · $231k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
Never Return · EA older $13.99 1,453 73% 44k $610k (exactly $609,824) YeMuNetWork
Trolley Problem, Inc. older $10.99 1,265 67% 38k $417k (exactly $417,070) ReadGraves
Dirty Business · EA $14.99 906 75% 27k $407k (exactly $407,428) Plan Dirty Games
Mining Mechs older $2.99 2,577 89% 77k $231k (exactly $231,157) Delayed Victory
Super Mining Mechs $4.99 841 86% 25k $126k (exactly $125,898) Delayed Victory
Mining Merchant $6.99 410 88% 12k $86k (exactly $85,977) Delayed Victory
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
Golazo! 2 older $14.99 109 77% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Purple Tree S R L
Dragonpath older $7.99 91 78% 2.7k $22k (exactly $21,813) Ebonscale Games
Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef $9.99 68 80% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) The Fine Arc
Stretcher Together $4.99 116 47% 3.5k $17k (exactly $17,365) Goosix Games
Elsewhere Electric $24.99 11 27% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Games by Stitch
cheapskate · EA $4.99 55 98% 1.7k $8.2k (exactly $8,234) Simple Dev Studio
Metrogether Train Simulator $17.99 15 73% 450 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) camelCase Games
Sewer Raiders $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Zachery Studios

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