Do I ship it?

Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Dragons

Only 13 developers shipped a Dragon Online 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, Monster Hunter Wilds, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $58k, ×38 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $240M, ×160962 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 38.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 34 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $91k → $227k → $1.2k (still earning) → $98k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $58k (exactly $57,571)
Top 25% $227k (exactly $226,898)
Top 5% $241M (exactly $241,120,505)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 55
Announced 34
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $15.99

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 55% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 36%, 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
Dragons
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Open World, RPG, Action
Price point
$15.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $15.99.

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 240,722 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $58k, 1 in 4 over $220k, 1 in 20 over $240M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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

Monster Hunter Wilds 2025 · $241M MONSTER HUNTER RISE 2022 · $96M Granblue Fantasy: Relink 2024 · $49M DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2015 · $34M Lords of the Fallen 2023 · $34M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Monster Hunter Wilds $39.99 200,984 52% 6.0M $241M (exactly $241,120,505) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
MONSTER HUNTER RISE older $39.99 79,847 84% 2.4M $96M (exactly $95,792,446) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink older $39.99 41,227 89% 1.2M $49M (exactly $49,460,032) Cygames, Inc.
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE older $64.98 17,554 89% 527k $34M (exactly $34,219,768) DIMPS
Lords of the Fallen older $29.99 37,902 68% 1.1M $34M (exactly $34,100,429) CI Games
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 older $19.99 45,155 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,079,453) QLOC, Dimps Corporation
RuneScape: Dragonwilds $29.99 28,071 81% 842k $25M (exactly $25,255,479) Jagex Ltd
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin older $39.99 11,845 82% 355k $14M (exactly $14,210,446) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
DragonSword : Awakening $29.99 10,568 90% 317k $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) Hound13 Inc.
CastleMiner Z older $5.99 7,939 83% 238k $1.4M (exactly $1,426,638) DigitalDNA Games
Ancient Kingdoms · EA $15.99 473 86% 14k $227k (exactly $226,898) Ancient Pixels
Circle Empires 2 $12.99 266 72% 8.0k $104k (exactly $103,660) Luminous
Dragonhold $19.99 163 68% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Exis Games
Spirit Animal Survival $19.99 96 62% 2.9k $58k (exactly $57,571) TRUEFX GAMES
Cat Gladiator $8.99 69 86% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) Funleeks Studio
Heroes of Mount Dragon $19.99 27 66% 810 $16k (exactly $16,192) RuniQ
猎人修仙传 Hunter Immortal $7.99 5 20% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) blues

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