Do I ship it?

GamesCo-opCo-op + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Co-op game?

Co-op + Western

Only 16 developers shipped a Western Co-op game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Far Far West, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×3.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×12594 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 31 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 31 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $456k → $17k → $2.7k → $26k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $25,648)
Top 5% $19M (exactly $18,865,363)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 43
Announced 31
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 30% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Western
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 32,217 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $18M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hunt: Showdown 1896 older $29.99 213,023 74% 6.4M $192M (exactly $191,656,793) Crytek
Red Dead Online older $19.99 59,572 82% 1.8M $36M (exactly $35,725,328) Rockstar Games
Far Far West · EA $19.99 31,458 95% 944k $19M (exactly $18,865,363) Evil Raptor
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
This Land Is My Land older $29.99 4,248 68% 127k $3.8M (exactly $3,821,926) Game-Labs
Railway Empire 2 older $49.99 1,966 72% 59k $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) Gaming Minds Studios
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood older $9.99 4,393 86% 132k $1.3M (exactly $1,316,582) Techland
Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps And Beans older $14.99 1,722 91% 52k $774k (exactly $774,383) Trinity Team
Westerado: Double Barreled older $14.99 1,400 92% 42k $630k (exactly $629,580) Ostrich Banditos
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Wild Indigo Ranch $19.99 424 68% 13k $254k (exactly $254,273) Funday Games
Cowboy 3030 $14.99 96 87% 2.9k $43k (exactly $43,171) Soy Boy Games
Trail & Error · EA $7.99 107 70% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,648) Oberha5li Studios
Altarium $9.99 58 53% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) Metavision Studio
Arcane Wilds · EA $17.99 13 76% 390 $7.0k (exactly $7,016) Avancadia
Rhyolite $9.99 21 100% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Long Lost
Cordels & Spells $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Supernova Games
DEMONOLITION $9.99 9 77% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) HEX512
Cheminots $4.99 16 87% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Weasel Sailor

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