Should I ship a Co-op CRPG?
Co-op + CRPG
Only 11 developers shipped a paid Co-op CRPG 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, Gedonia 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 37 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.0k, ×6.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×269 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 37 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.0k (exactly $9,017) |
| Top 25% | $227k (exactly $226,898) |
| Top 5% | $403k (exactly $402,931) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 41%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, CRPG
- Price point
- $10.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,797 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 2023 · $51M 
Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition 2015 · $33M 
Wasteland 3 2020 · $21M 
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2013 · $9.2M 
SpellForce 3 Reforced 2017 · $6.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader | older | $49.99 | 33,701 87% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $50,541,390) | Owlcat Games |
| | Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition | older | $39.99 | 27,485 88% | 825k | $33M (exactly $32,973,754) | Larian Studios |
| | Wasteland 3 | older | $39.99 | 17,263 84% | 518k | $21M (exactly $20,710,421) | inXile Entertainment |
| | Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 15,395 92% | 462k | $9.2M (exactly $9,232,382) | Beamdog |
| | SpellForce 3 Reforced | older | $39.99 | 5,784 76% | 174k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,065) | Grimlore Games |
 | Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 7,859 90% | 236k | $4.7M (exactly $4,713,042) | Beamdog |
 | Stolen Realm | older | $19.99 | 3,470 84% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,959) | Burst2Flame Games |
 | Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,107 91% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,863,268) | Beamdog |
 | Tower of Time | older | $24.99 | 2,322 82% | 70k | $1.7M (exactly $1,740,803) | Event Horizon |
 | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance | older | $39.99 | 954 81% | 29k | $1.1M (exactly $1,144,514) | Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studi… (Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studios) |
 | Gedonia 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 896 82% | 27k | $403k (exactly $402,931) | Kazakov Oleg |
 | Expeditions: Samurai | · EA | $29.99 | 267 59% | 8.0k | $240k (exactly $240,220) | Campfire Cabal |
 | Ancient Kingdoms | · EA | $15.99 | 473 86% | 14k | $227k (exactly $226,898) | Ancient Pixels |
 | Enarian Online | $14.99 | 48 83% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | Enarian Online | |
 | DarkStone Restoration | · EA | $10.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $21k (exactly $20,771) | Paul Cuisset |
 | The Creator | $6.99 | 43 81% | 1.3k | $9.0k (exactly $9,017) | Mark Miller | |
 | Journey of Rune | · EA | $16.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $1.5k (exactly $1,529) | 搴舟游戏 |
 | Ignisia | · EA | $5.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | Dracula's Cat |
 | Magia y Demonios | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | anyeos | |
 | Null Zone: No Way Back | $6.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $210 (exactly $210) | ExcellentGameDev |
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.