Do I ship it?

Games › Local Co-Op › Local Co-Op + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Hidden Object?

Local Co-Op + Hidden Object

Only 16 developers shipped a Local Co-Op Hidden Object 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, iDigging, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $65k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 18 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 18 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $178 → $955 → $1.5k → $449 (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,525)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,074)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,391)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 54
Announced 18
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 80% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Local Co-Op
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Co-Op, Hidden Object
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,137 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  2. + LGBTQ+Fair11 devs · median $14k · 12 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair16 devs · median $11k · 15 announced
  4. + TriviaFair12 devs · median $7.5k · 13 announced
  5. + Action RPGFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  6. + ModernFair11 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  7. + Dark FantasyFair40 devs · median $2.7k · 47 announced
  8. + Board GameFair35 devs · median $2.4k · 41 announced
  9. + Dungeon CrawlerFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  10. + MedievalFair46 devs · median $1.8k · 52 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair22 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 9 announced

All 151 pairs on the Local Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

CATO: Buttered Cat 2024 · $921k I'm on Observation Duty 6 2023 · $235k iDigging 2025 · $65k How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine 2025 · $63k Tiny Lands 2 2025 · $38k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
CATO: Buttered Cat older $10.99 2,794 98% 84k $921k (exactly $921,182) Team Woll
I'm on Observation Duty 6 older $11.99 652 94% 20k $235k (exactly $234,524) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine $12.99 161 83% 4.8k $63k (exactly $62,742) Breakfirst Games
Tiny Lands 2 $9.99 126 94% 3.8k $38k (exactly $37,762) Hyper Three Studio
Kitchen Simulator 2 older $4.99 80 48% 2.4k $12k (exactly $11,976) WhackAKey Games
Platypus Adventures older $19.99 17 100% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) Figtree Digital
Fofumia $15.99 21 85% 630 $10k (exactly $10,074) Actoon Studio
Unbearable older $7.99 40 65% 1.2k $9.6k (exactly $9,588) Farelas
Elsewhere Electric $24.99 11 27% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Games by Stitch
Where is Billy? $6.99 23 100% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) Triple Boris Inc., Dodo Tako
UnPlugged $5.99 20 75% 600 $3.6k (exactly $3,594) DemonLabs Interactive
8 YOUs+ (from KUUKIYOMI 4: Consider It) $2.99 17 100% 510 $1.5k (exactly $1,525) G-MODE
DEEPLY · EA $2.99 14 35% 420 $1.3k (exactly $1,256) TWEN
Sunny Reef $1.99 15 86% 450 $896 (exactly $896) GiBar

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