Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Local Co-Op

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Destruction game?

Destruction + Local Co-Op

Of 21 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Destruction 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.. 41 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $20k, ×32 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 41 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Local Co-Op
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: $2.2k → $300 → $719 → $358 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Local Co-Op: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,846)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $20,143)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 70
Announced 41
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 95% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Local Co-Op
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Destruction, Local Co-Op; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 4 Player Local, Arcade
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 340 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $480, 1 in 4 over $5.8k, 1 in 20 over $20k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Destruction with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + ManagementPoor odds36 devs · median $6.1k · 129 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair older $19.99 7,776 95% 233k $4.7M (exactly $4,663,267) SANDLOT
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed older $39.99 2,271 79% 68k $2.7M (exactly $2,724,519) Black Forest Games
X-Morph: Defense older $19.99 3,272 90% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,962,218) EXOR Studios
Worms Ultimate Mayhem older $14.99 4,303 89% 129k $1.9M (exactly $1,935,059) Team17 Digital Ltd
TRAIL OUT older $19.99 3,019 81% 91k $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) GOOD BOYS
Rubber Bandits older $9.99 5,628 84% 169k $1.7M (exactly $1,686,712) Flashbulb
Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder™ older $14.99 2,792 90% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,255,562) ACE Team
Spirit Island older $24.99 1,545 91% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) Handelabra Games Inc.
Split/Second older $19.99 1,683 80% 50k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,295) Black Rock Studio
Chippy older $14.99 1,089 90% 33k $490k (exactly $489,723) Facepunch Studios
Tasty Planet: Final Bite $12.99 100 90% 3.0k $39k (exactly $38,970) Dingo Games
Dino Party $11.99 56 98% 1.7k $20k (exactly $20,143) Studio Nachtwerk
We Could Be Heroes $14.99 42 85% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) CebCode Games
Big Dig Energy $9.99 59 69% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) NuggetSmash
Galactic Thunderdome $9.99 35 100% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Pansimula
War of Wheels · EA $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dreambits Studio
Strikers 1945 $9.99 16 93% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Zerodiv
Death Metal Derby $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) Turtle Duck Studio
Ball Blast $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) VOODOO
XO-Planets $1.99 12 66% 360 $716 (exactly $716) myradann

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