Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Heist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Heist Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Heist

Of 23 developers who shipped a Heist 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.. 60 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×817 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 60 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 60 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Heist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $28k → $3.2k → $20k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Heist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $959 (exactly $959)
Median $5.0k (exactly $5,034)
Top 25% $84k (exactly $84,374)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 52
Announced 60
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Heist
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Action-Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 15,265 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $960, median $5.0k, 1 in 4 over $84k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $960. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PAYDAY 2 older $9.99 445,531 89% 13M $134M (exactly $133,525,641) OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetr… (OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetrack Games)
Teardown older $29.99 126,563 95% 3.8M $114M (exactly $113,868,731) Tuxedo Labs
PAYDAY 3 older $29.99 49,305 45% 1.5M $44M (exactly $44,359,708) Starbreeze Studios
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 older $19.99 15,133 67% 454k $9.1M (exactly $9,075,260) CI Games
Hobo: Tough Life older $29.99 8,679 84% 260k $7.8M (exactly $7,808,496) Perun Creative
PAYDAY™ The Heist older $9.99 21,870 92% 656k $6.6M (exactly $6,554,439) OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio.
Crime Boss: Rockay City older $19.99 8,553 68% 257k $5.1M (exactly $5,129,234) INGAME STUDIOS
Operation: Tango older $19.99 7,167 86% 215k $4.3M (exactly $4,298,050) Clever Plays
Dead Rising 4 older $29.99 4,773 59% 143k $4.3M (exactly $4,294,268) Capcom Game Studio Vancouver, Inc.
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
The Break-In $19.99 2,040 87% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh
The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time $14.99 2,361 90% 71k $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742) That Fish, That Other Fish
Dark Hours $9.99 3,481 81% 104k $1.0M (exactly $1,043,256) Piece of Cake studios
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale
Frog Sqwad 🐸 $7.99 352 72% 11k $84k (exactly $84,374) Panic Stations
Monaco 2 $14.99 156 63% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Pocketwatch Games
Find or be Found $7.99 117 69% 3.5k $28k (exactly $28,045) Studio Downstairs
Burgle Supply Company $7.99 85 88% 2.6k $20k (exactly $20,374) Terrible Posture Games
The Memory Thieves · EA $6.99 40 80% 1.2k $8.4k (exactly $8,388) Otherside Studio

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