Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + CRPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op CRPG?

Online Co-Op + CRPG

Only 13 developers shipped a paid Online 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, Solasta II, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 23 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $22k, ×14 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $3.5M, ×2347 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 23 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 23 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + CRPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Online Co-Op + CRPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $22k (exactly $21,586)
Top 25% $227k (exactly $226,898)
Top 5% $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 62
Announced 23
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 48%, 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.

Online Co-Op
effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 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
Online Co-Op, CRPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Character Customization, Co-op
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 4,915 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $22k, 1 in 4 over $220k, 1 in 20 over $3.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Bullet HeavenStrong odds27 devs · median $9.3k · 38 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair31 devs · median $14k · 32 announced
  3. + TypingFair16 devs · median $5.0k · 12 announced
  4. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Point & ClickFair28 devs · median $1.7k · 34 announced
  6. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds29 devs · median $443k · 70 announced
  7. + TransportationPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  8. + JRPGPoor odds11 devs · median $346k · 16 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds72 devs · median $217k · 139 announced
  10. + World War IIPoor odds10 devs · median $188k · 18 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds20 devs · median $95k · 18 announced

All 211 pairs on the Online Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Baldur's Gate 3 older $59.99 755,010 96% 23M $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) Larian Studios
Wasteland 3 older $39.99 17,263 84% 518k $21M (exactly $20,710,421) inXile Entertainment
Solasta: Crown of the Magister older $29.99 19,680 87% 590k $18M (exactly $17,706,096) Tactical Adventures
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 15,395 92% 462k $9.2M (exactly $9,232,382) Beamdog
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 9,478 92% 284k $5.7M (exactly $5,683,957) Beamdog
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 7,859 90% 236k $4.7M (exactly $4,713,042) Beamdog
Solasta II · EA $39.99 2,931 75% 88k $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) Tactical Adventures
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
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
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
Forsworn $15.99 187 90% 5.6k $90k (exactly $89,704) Resummon Studios LLC
Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG · EA $21.99 94 71% 2.8k $62k (exactly $62,012) Innervoid Interactive
Enarian Online $14.99 48 83% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) Enarian Online
PLAYNESE: Master Japanese · EA $19.95 17 94% 510 $10k (exactly $10,174) Wynand Smit
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.