Games › Exploration › Exploration + Local Co-Op
Should I ship an Exploration Local Co-Op game?
Exploration + Local Co-Op
Of 93 developers who shipped an Exploration Local 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.. 213 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×8.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×774 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 213 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $718 (exactly $718) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,284) |
| Top 5% | $368k (exactly $367,616) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 290 |
| Announced | 213 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Local Co-Op
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Local Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 40,683 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 213 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition 2020 · $42M 
Outward Definitive Edition 2022 · $30M 
Grounded 2 2025 · EA · $19M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition | older | $29.99 | 47,176 94% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $42,444,247) | Thunder Lotus |
| | Outward Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 24,636 72% | 739k | $30M (exactly $29,555,809) | Nine Dots Studio |
| | Grounded 2 | · EA | $29.99 | 21,442 82% | 643k | $19M (exactly $19,291,367) | Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos-Montréal |
 | REANIMAL | $39.99 | 13,809 78% | 414k | $17M (exactly $16,566,657) | Tarsier Studios | |
 | Sea of Stars: Sunset Edition | older | $34.99 | 12,060 87% | 362k | $13M (exactly $12,659,382) | Sabotage Studio |
 | Goat Simulator 3 | older | $29.99 | 13,779 97% | 413k | $12M (exactly $12,396,966) | Coffee Stain North |
 | Portal Knights | older | $19.99 | 16,885 83% | 507k | $10M (exactly $10,125,934) | Keen Games GmbH |
 | Amazing Frog? | · EA older | $19.99 | 11,169 94% | 335k | $6.7M (exactly $6,698,049) | Fayju |
 | LEGO® Voyagers | $24.99 | 1,859 88% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) | Light Brick Studio | |
 | Primal Planet | $19.99 | 629 88% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Seethingswarm | |
 | Schrodinger's Cat Burglar | $19.99 | 613 97% | 18k | $368k (exactly $367,616) | Abandoned Sheep | |
 | Windswept | $19.99 | 470 92% | 14k | $282k (exactly $281,859) | WeatherFell | |
 | Together: Moon Escape | $9.99 | 868 90% | 26k | $260k (exactly $260,140) | CarlosGameDev | |
 | Coridden | $19.99 | 426 89% | 13k | $255k (exactly $255,472) | Aftnareld | |
 | Tearscape | $14.99 | 334 90% | 10k | $150k (exactly $150,200) | NERDS TAKE OVER | |
 | The Awakener: Battle Tendency | $14.98 | 233 74% | 7.0k | $105k (exactly $104,710) | TANER GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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