Do I ship it?

GamesDrivingDriving + Local Co-Op

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Driving game?

Driving + Local Co-Op

Of 26 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Driving 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $92k, ×148 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 50 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 50 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Driving + Local Co-Op
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $49k → $4.9k → $22k → $4.8k → $838 → $1.1k (still earning) → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Driving + Local Co-Op: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,795)
Top 5% $93k (exactly $92,664)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 102
Announced 50
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 flat on the market, supply 170% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Driving
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling feel is tuned by hand
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
Driving, Local Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Racing, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Family Friendly, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,367 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $4.7k, 1 in 20 over $92k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Split ScreenFair54 devs · median $6.0k · 56 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair35 devs · median $5.9k · 43 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  4. + Survival HorrorFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  5. + World War IIFair8 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  6. + MusicFair8 devs · median $2.4k · 10 announced
  7. + ThrillerFair18 devs · median $2.0k · 21 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $1.2k · 13 announced
  9. + LogicFair30 devs · median $958 · 29 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair26 devs · median $897 · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds82 devs · median $48k · 157 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds24 devs · median $44k · 36 announced

All 130 pairs on the Driving page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted older $19.99 25,197 77% 756k $15M (exactly $15,110,641) Criterion Games
DIRT 5 older $59.99 3,530 59% 106k $6.4M (exactly $6,352,941) Codemasters
Trackmania® Turbo older $39.99 1,520 66% 46k $1.8M (exactly $1,823,544) Nadeo
TRAIL OUT older $19.99 3,019 81% 91k $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) GOOD BOYS
MX vs. ATV Reflex older $19.99 2,904 88% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,741,529) Rainbow Studios, THQ Nordic
Split/Second older $19.99 1,683 80% 50k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,295) Black Rock Studio
Hotshot Racing older $19.99 1,304 78% 39k $782k (exactly $782,009) Sumo Digital Ltd, Lucky Mountain Games
Moving Out 2 older $42.99 456 73% 14k $588k (exactly $588,103) SMG Studio, Devm Games
Barro older $4.99 3,253 85% 98k $487k (exactly $486,974) SC Jogos
Amazing Frog? 2 · EA older $19.99 726 77% 22k $435k (exactly $435,382) Fayju
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Chained Wheels $4.99 619 69% 19k $93k (exactly $92,664) Karga Games
Tipston Salvage $16.99 80 97% 2.4k $41k (exactly $40,776) Pontus Karlsson
Matchbox™ Driving Adventures $39.99 16 81% 480 $19k (exactly $19,195) Casual Brothers Ltd.
Mythic Kart Maker · EA $11.99 53 83% 1.6k $19k (exactly $19,064) Dream Mix Games
The Henchmen $9.99 21 76% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Alex Von Bronx
F2D - Steer To Persevere $9.99 16 100% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Zyg Studios
Road Defense Racing $3.99 36 97% 1.1k $4.3k (exactly $4,309) Minicactus Games
Medic Mayhem $9.99 13 100% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Martta, tatsoni, WDC
Jesus Take The Wheel $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Vertex Horizons

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