Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Online Co-Op game?
Online Co-Op + Dystopian
Of 30 developers who shipped a Dystopian Online Co-Op 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.. 84 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.8k, ×5.9 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×1138 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 84 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.8k (exactly $8,805) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,065) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 70 |
| Announced | 84 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, 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
- Dystopian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 24,334 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Anniversary Edition | older | $39.99 | 18,455 92% | 554k | $22M (exactly $22,140,464) | Relic Entertainment |
| | Watch Dogs®: Legion | older | $59.99 | 11,891 56% | 357k | $21M (exactly $21,400,233) | Ubisoft Toronto |
| | Le Mans Ultimate | $39.99 | 15,068 79% | 452k | $18M (exactly $18,077,080) | Studio 397 | |
| | Homefront®: The Revolution | older | $19.99 | 11,393 63% | 342k | $6.8M (exactly $6,832,382) | Dambuster Studios |
| | HUNTDOWN | older | $19.99 | 4,059 94% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) | Easy Trigger Games |
| | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
| | FREEDOM WARS Remastered | $39.99 | 1,211 69% | 36k | $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837) | Dimps Corporation | |
| | USAC: Code Breach | older | $14.99 | 1,067 91% | 32k | $480k (exactly $479,830) | Questions Factory |
| | Cargo Hunters | · EA | $19.99 | 739 82% | 22k | $443k (exactly $443,178) | Order Of Meta |
| | JUNKPUNK | · EA older | $15.99 | 641 60% | 19k | $307k (exactly $307,488) | SCT |
| | BULT: Hunting simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 869 87% | 26k | $260k (exactly $260,439) | Nordrise |
| | La Quimera | · EA | $29.99 | 167 51% | 5.0k | $150k (exactly $150,250) | Reburn |
| | Necrosis: Dawn of Dread | $9.99 | 133 85% | 4.0k | $40k (exactly $39,860) | Mike Schroder, Swole Software | |
| | FEAR OF FAITH | · EA | $9.99 | 117 78% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,065) | UNBREAKABLE ARK |
| | Subterranauts | $4.99 | 190 76% | 5.7k | $28k (exactly $28,443) | Red Basket Games | |
| | Dreadline: Net Quota | $5.99 | 154 68% | 4.6k | $28k (exactly $27,674) | Mana Brigade |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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