Do I ship it?

GamesCo-op CampaignCo-op Campaign + Open World

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Campaign Open World game?

Co-op Campaign + Open World

Only 17 developers shipped a Co-op Campaign Open World 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, Dying Light: The Beast, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 65 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270k, ×179 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $15k; 1 in 20 cleared $100M, ×71265 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 65 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 178.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 65 announced, ×6.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op Campaign + Open World
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $235k → $355k → $279k → $18k → $272k (still earning) → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op Campaign + Open World: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $14k (exactly $14,386)
Median $267k (exactly $267,466)
Top 25% $355k (exactly $354,608)
Top 5% $107M (exactly $106,754,605)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 58
Announced 65
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $19.99

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 70% on the market, supply 45% 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 Campaign
effort 8 / 10 · low · shared campaign state over the network
Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Co-op Campaign, Open World; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$19.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $19.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 105,055 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $15k, median $270k, 1 in 4 over $350k, 1 in 20 over $100M.

3 in 10 developers made under $15k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Co-op Campaign with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ZombiesPoor odds12 devs · median $27k · 22 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorPoor odds18 devs · median $27k · 27 announced
  3. + SurvivalPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  4. + HorrorPoor odds31 devs · median $14k · 66 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds19 devs · median $14k · 39 announced
  6. + ExplorationPoor odds54 devs · median $14k · 153 announced
  7. + Sci-fiPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 78 announced
  8. + Puzzle PlatformerPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  9. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds19 devs · median $6.6k · 29 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds32 devs · median $6.5k · 90 announced
  11. + CraftingPoor odds17 devs · median $6.2k · 34 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds15 devs · median $6.2k · 30 announced

All 81 pairs on the Co-op Campaign page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Borderlands 3 older $59.99 127,847 81% 3.8M $230M (exactly $230,086,246) Gearbox Software
Dying Light: The Beast $59.99 59,318 87% 1.8M $107M (exactly $106,754,605) Techland
Trailmakers older $24.99 33,465 92% 1.0M $25M (exactly $25,088,710) Flashbulb
Battlefield 3™ older $39.99 16,378 71% 491k $20M (exactly $19,648,687) DICE
Big Walk $19.99 32,470 95% 974k $19M (exactly $19,472,259) House House
Gears 5 older $29.99 21,210 72% 636k $19M (exactly $19,082,637) The Coalition
Strange Brigade older $49.99 8,309 84% 249k $12M (exactly $12,461,007) Rebellion
RUNNING WITH RIFLES older $14.99 14,676 87% 440k $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) Osumia Games
Echo Point Nova $24.99 7,521 96% 226k $5.6M (exactly $5,638,494) Greylock Studio
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 older $24.99 5,480 69% 164k $4.1M (exactly $4,108,356) Byterunners
Revenge of the Savage Planet $29.99 2,845 86% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.
It's Only Money $24.99 473 78% 14k $355k (exactly $354,608) Usual Suspects Studios
DuneCrawl $19.99 568 74% 17k $341k (exactly $340,630) Alientrap
Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate · EA $9.99 931 96% 28k $279k (exactly $279,021) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Big Hops Together $19.99 453 89% 14k $272k (exactly $271,664) Luckshot Games
Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator · EA $19.99 446 76% 13k $267k (exactly $267,466) To-Go Games
Neolithic Dawn $19.99 30 60% 900 $18k (exactly $17,991) Neolithic LLC

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