Do I ship it?

GamesCo-op CampaignCo-op Campaign + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Campaign PvE game?

Co-op Campaign + PvE

Of 62 developers who shipped a Co-op Campaign PvE 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.. 204 more are announced, ×6.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×228 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 204 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 285% on the market, 204 announced, ×6.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op Campaign + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $63k → $1.9k → $719 → $4.9k → $3.3k → $959 (still earning) → $4.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op Campaign + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $600 (exactly $600)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,432)
Top 5% $342k (exactly $341,726)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 179
Announced 204
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 285% on the market, supply 15% 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Co-op Campaign, PvE; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Online Co-Op
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 50,470 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 204 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.2 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
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide older $39.99 108,477 72% 3.3M $130M (exactly $130,139,857) Fatshark
Abiotic Factor $34.99 42,075 95% 1.3M $44M (exactly $44,166,128) Deep Field Games
Aliens: Fireteam Elite older $29.99 21,668 80% 650k $19M (exactly $19,494,700) Cold Iron Studios
Strange Brigade older $49.99 8,309 84% 249k $12M (exactly $12,461,007) Rebellion
Orcs Must Die! 3 older $29.99 10,930 85% 328k $9.8M (exactly $9,833,721) Robot Entertainment
RUNNING WITH RIFLES older $14.99 14,676 87% 440k $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) Osumia Games
Labyrinthine older $9.99 13,779 84% 413k $4.1M (exactly $4,129,566) Valko Game Studios
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate $29.99 4,143 83% 124k $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) Super Evil Megacorp
Aragami 2 older $34.99 3,472 76% 104k $3.6M (exactly $3,644,558) Lince Works
Warhammer: Chaosbane older $29.99 3,274 60% 98k $2.9M (exactly $2,945,618) Eko Software
Blood: Refreshed Supply™ $29.99 719 71% 22k $647k (exactly $646,884) Nightdive Studios, Monolith Productions
Blood Typers $12.49 912 94% 27k $342k (exactly $341,726) Outer Brain Studios
Zero Caliber 2 Remastered $24.99 433 79% 13k $325k (exactly $324,620) XREAL Games
Storebound $7.99 1,042 76% 31k $250k (exactly $249,767) Embers
Expeditions: Samurai · EA $29.99 267 59% 8.0k $240k (exactly $240,220) Campfire Cabal
La Quimera · EA $29.99 167 51% 5.0k $150k (exactly $150,250) Reburn
Astroloot · EA $6.99 587 92% 18k $123k (exactly $123,094) Andreas Hager Gaming
Into Black $29.99 125 87% 3.8k $112k (exactly $112,462) The Binary Mill

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