Do I ship it?

GamesCo-op CampaignCo-op Campaign + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Campaign Puzzle game?

Co-op Campaign + Puzzle

Of 55 developers who shipped a Co-op Campaign Puzzle 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.. 96 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×1718 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 96 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 96 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op Campaign + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 55
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $73k → $152k → $5.0k → $17k → $3.6k → $24k → $3.7k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op Campaign + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $5.0k (exactly $5,034)
Top 25% $63k (exactly $62,742)
Top 5% $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 160
Announced 96
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 35% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Co-op Campaign, Puzzle; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Online Co-Op, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 55,894 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $5.0k, 1 in 4 over $62k, 1 in 20 over $2.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Open WorldPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced
  2. + ZombiesPoor odds12 devs · median $27k · 22 announced
  3. + Psychological HorrorPoor odds18 devs · median $27k · 27 announced
  4. + SurvivalPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  5. + HorrorPoor odds31 devs · median $14k · 66 announced
  6. + Survival HorrorPoor odds19 devs · median $14k · 39 announced
  7. + ExplorationPoor odds54 devs · median $14k · 153 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 78 announced
  9. + Puzzle PlatformerPoor odds26 devs · median $9.0k · 53 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds19 devs · median $6.6k · 29 announced
  11. + PlatformerPoor odds32 devs · median $6.5k · 90 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds17 devs · median $6.2k · 34 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
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Teardown older $29.99 126,563 95% 3.8M $114M (exactly $113,868,731) Tuxedo Labs
Big Walk $19.99 32,470 95% 974k $19M (exactly $19,472,259) House House
Strange Brigade older $49.99 8,309 84% 249k $12M (exactly $12,461,007) Rebellion
Little Nightmares III $39.99 10,165 46% 305k $12M (exactly $12,194,950) Supermassive Games
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince older $29.99 11,712 88% 351k $11M (exactly $10,537,286) Frozenbyte
Trine 2: Complete Story older $19.99 15,273 95% 458k $9.2M (exactly $9,159,218) Frozenbyte
We Were Here Forever older $17.99 16,256 90% 488k $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) Total Mayhem Games
Trine Enchanted Edition older $14.99 12,843 95% 385k $5.8M (exactly $5,775,497) Frozenbyte
We Were Here Together older $12.99 14,481 82% 434k $5.6M (exactly $5,643,246) Total Mayhem Games
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.
LEGO® Voyagers $24.99 1,859 88% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) Light Brick Studio
Paranoia Place: Escape Together $7.99 1,555 87% 47k $373k (exactly $372,734) Bloody Pixel Games
63 Days $29.99 413 72% 12k $372k (exactly $371,576) Destructive Creations
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate · EA $9.99 931 96% 28k $279k (exactly $279,021) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Together: Moon Escape $9.99 868 90% 26k $260k (exactly $260,140) CarlosGameDev

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