Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op › Co-op + Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Word Game?

Co-op + Word Game

Of 23 developers who shipped a Co-op Word 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.. 23 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $49k, ×33 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 23 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $39k → $298 → $15k → $1.2k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $267 (exactly $267)
Top 25% $8.9k (exactly $8,880)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $49,017)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 52
Announced 23
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 up 45% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, PvP, Board Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Funny
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 87% positive over 1,514 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $270, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $49k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds58 devs · median $515k · 127 announced
  7. + World War IIPoor odds12 devs · median $372k · 23 announced
  8. + AutomationPoor odds48 devs · median $369k · 110 announced
  9. + TransportationPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + JRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $164k · 19 announced
  11. + Turn-BasedPoor odds12 devs · median $131k · 19 announced
  12. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds25 devs · median $82k · 49 announced

All 230 pairs on the Co-op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Jackbox Party Pack 7 2020 · $3.6M The Jackbox Party Pack 8 2021 · $1.0M The Jackbox Party Pack 9 2022 · $544k The Jackbox Survey Scramble 2024 · $95k Deviation Game 2025 · EA · $49k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Jackbox Party Pack 7 older $29.99 4,001 96% 120k $3.6M (exactly $3,599,700) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 older $29.99 1,134 90% 34k $1.0M (exactly $1,020,260) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 9 older $29.99 605 84% 18k $544k (exactly $544,318) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Survey Scramble $9.99 318 90% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Jackbox Games, Inc
Deviation Game · EA $14.99 109 90% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Tomo Kihara, Playfool
这是谐音梗 $2.40 567 94% 17k $41k (exactly $40,824) Find the Lamp Games
Deduce Together $5.99 217 68% 6.5k $39k (exactly $38,995) PushForward
おしゃべりキング！コミュ力診断ゲーム $8.99 69 97% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) Hyper Index, Inc.
Lateral Thinking Together · EA $5.99 85 43% 2.6k $15k (exactly $15,274) PushForward
Online Sparkler older $4.99 72 88% 2.2k $11k (exactly $10,778) 宮村あつき
Code Velocity $2.99 99 100% 3.0k $8.9k (exactly $8,880) STIM GAMES
Typing Ninja $9.99 25 96% 750 $7.5k (exactly $7,492) Brain Boost Ninja
Quiz Quest $4.99 12 75% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Quiztal Games Limited
Waddle Words $2.99 13 100% 390 $1.2k (exactly $1,166) Grau Games

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