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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.
not enough cohorts to draw
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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