Games › Co-op Campaign › Co-op Campaign + Exploration
Should I ship a Co-op Campaign Exploration game?
Co-op Campaign + Exploration
Of 54 developers who shipped a Co-op Campaign Exploration 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.. 153 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $14k, ×9.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $19M, ×12999 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 153 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
|---|---|
| Median | $14k (exactly $13,762) |
| Top 25% | $267k (exactly $267,466) |
| Top 5% | $19M (exactly $19,472,259) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 54 |
| Released games | 122 |
| Announced | 153 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 85% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Co-op Campaign
- effort 8 / 10 · low · shared campaign state over the network
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Co-op Campaign, Exploration; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Online Co-Op, Co-op
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 164,160 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 153 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op Campaign with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + ZombiesPoor odds
- + Psychological HorrorPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Sci-fiPoor odds
- + Puzzle PlatformerPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + PlatformerPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
Comparable games
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
Dying Light: The Beast 2025 · $107M 
Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M 
Trailmakers 2019 · $25M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | Dying Light: The Beast | $59.99 | 59,318 87% | 1.8M | $107M (exactly $106,754,605) | Techland | |
| | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
| | Trailmakers | older | $24.99 | 33,465 92% | 1.0M | $25M (exactly $25,088,710) | Flashbulb |
 | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
 | Big Walk | $19.99 | 32,470 95% | 974k | $19M (exactly $19,472,259) | House House | |
 | Little Nightmares III | $39.99 | 10,165 46% | 305k | $12M (exactly $12,194,950) | Supermassive Games | |
 | We Were Here Forever | older | $17.99 | 16,256 90% | 488k | $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) | Total Mayhem Games |
 | We Were Here Together | older | $12.99 | 14,481 82% | 434k | $5.6M (exactly $5,643,246) | Total Mayhem Games |
 | Echo Point Nova | $24.99 | 7,521 96% | 226k | $5.6M (exactly $5,638,494) | Greylock Studio | |
 | Escape Simulator 2 | $19.99 | 4,292 92% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) | Pine Studio | |
 | Revenge of the Savage Planet | $29.99 | 2,845 86% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) | Raccoon Logic Studios Inc. | |
 | ERA ONE | · EA | $29.99 | 1,575 86% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) | Team Complex LTD |
 | LEGO® Voyagers | $24.99 | 1,859 88% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) | Light Brick Studio | |
 | The Break-In | $19.99 | 2,040 87% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) | jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh |
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.