Do I ship it?

Games › Local Co-Op › Local Co-Op + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Local Co-Op game?

Local Co-Op + Dogs

Only 11 developers shipped a Dog Local Co-Op game 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, Sheepherds!, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×291 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 16 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 16 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $21k → $4.2k → $38k → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,698)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,796)
Top 5% $138k (exactly $138,058)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 41
Announced 16
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 35% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Local Co-Op
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Co-Op
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 431 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Co-Op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  2. + LGBTQ+Fair11 devs · median $14k · 12 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair16 devs · median $11k · 15 announced
  4. + TriviaFair12 devs · median $7.5k · 13 announced
  5. + Action RPGFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  6. + ModernFair11 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  7. + Dark FantasyFair40 devs · median $2.7k · 47 announced
  8. + Board GameFair35 devs · median $2.4k · 41 announced
  9. + Dungeon CrawlerFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  10. + MedievalFair46 devs · median $1.8k · 52 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair22 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 9 announced

All 151 pairs on the Local Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cat Quest II 2019 · $2.6M PHOGS! 2020 · $878k Big Farm Story 2021 · $703k Bluey: The Videogame 2023 · $449k PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist 2015 · $323k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
PHOGS! older $24.99 1,171 78% 35k $878k (exactly $877,899) Bit Loom Games
Big Farm Story older $19.99 1,172 78% 35k $703k (exactly $702,848) Goodgame Studios
Bluey: The Videogame older $29.99 499 72% 15k $449k (exactly $448,950) Artax Games., Casual Brothers Ltd.
PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist older $7.99 1,346 91% 40k $323k (exactly $322,636) Outerminds Inc.
Paw Patrol: On A Roll! older $29.99 345 84% 10k $310k (exactly $310,396) Torus Games
PAW Patrol World older $39.99 144 88% 4.3k $173k (exactly $172,757) 3DClouds
Sheepherds! $14.99 307 98% 9.2k $138k (exactly $138,058) Ultimo Disco
PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay older $29.99 136 72% 4.1k $122k (exactly $122,359) DRAKHAR STUDIO
Retro Game Crunch older $9.99 280 82% 8.4k $84k (exactly $83,916) Rusty Moyher, Shaun Inman, Matt Grimm
A Corgi's Cozy Hike $19.99 63 100% 1.9k $38k (exactly $37,781) Scalisco
PAW Patrol™: Dino World $39.99 14 64% 420 $17k (exactly $16,796) 3DClouds
Cat & Capy · EA $4.99 30 100% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Matato Games
Nick Jr. Party Adventure $39.99 3 100% 90 $3.6k (exactly $3,599) Melbot Studios
Nickelodeon Splat Pack $14.99 6 83% 180 $2.7k (exactly $2,698) Mighty Rabbit Studios
Yellow Trouble $17.99 2 100% 60 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) DrearyWeary
Flock of Dogs $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Max Clark
Bark and Catch $8.99 2 100% 60 $539 (exactly $539) Amberlight Games
Apocalypse ? No ! $3.99 1 0% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Team KL Studio

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