Do I ship it?

Games › Co-op Campaign › Co-op Campaign + Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op Campaign Top-Down Shooter?

Co-op Campaign + Top-Down Shooter

Of 21 developers who shipped a Co-op Campaign Top-Down Shooter 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.. 42 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $630, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 42 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 40% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 42 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op Campaign + Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $1.2k → $599 → $1.4k → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op Campaign + Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,617)
Top 5% $70k (exactly $69,722)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 68
Announced 42
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 40% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Co-op Campaign, Top-Down Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Arcade
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 674 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $630, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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

RUNNING WITH RIFLES 2015 · $6.6M Nine Parchments 2017 · $2.5M POSTAL Redux 2016 · $1.8M Red Solstice 2: Survivors 2021 · $1.2M Phantom Squad 2025 · $175k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
RUNNING WITH RIFLES older $14.99 14,676 87% 440k $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) Osumia Games
Nine Parchments older $19.99 4,123 77% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) Frozenbyte
POSTAL Redux older $8.99 6,745 92% 202k $1.8M (exactly $1,819,126) Running With Scissors
Red Solstice 2: Survivors older $14.99 2,585 70% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,162,474) Ironward
Phantom Squad $13.99 416 80% 12k $175k (exactly $174,595) Ctrl Freak
Truxton Extreme $24.99 93 95% 2.8k $70k (exactly $69,722) Tatsujin
Zombie Builder Defense 2 older $9.99 210 84% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,937) Noham Games
No Way Home $9.99 76 88% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) SMG Studio
Toy Tanks older $9.99 64 89% 1.9k $19k (exactly $19,181) Fuzzy Sock Studios
Solar Purge · EA older $24.99 25 68% 750 $19k (exactly $18,742) Hitscan Games
Hyperspaced $16.99 27 92% 810 $14k (exactly $13,762) Rarebyte
Rising Sun - Iron Aces $14.99 13 76% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Moebius One Games
Brawl Squad X: Battle Arena $13.99 11 81% 330 $4.6k (exactly $4,617) Army Troop Studios
Roguevive $1.99 23 69% 690 $1.4k (exactly $1,373) Chiorco
TANK ZERO $5.99 5 100% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Emergency Exit
Rogue Tanks $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Clayton Games
Super Firefighter $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) William Giguère

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