Do I ship it?

GamesLocal Co-OpLocal Co-Op + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Local Co-Op game?

Local Co-Op + Horror

Of 45 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×8.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $4.7M, ×9976 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 66 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 75% on the market, 66 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $17k → $3.8k → $1.6k → $2.7k → $58k → $33k (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $4.0k (exactly $3,953)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,667)
Top 5% $4.7M (exactly $4,738,815)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 155
Announced 66
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 75% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Horror
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, 1990's
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 44,763 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $4.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Left 4 Dead 2 older $9.99 816,316 97% 24M $245M (exactly $244,649,905) Valve
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth older $14.99 415,060 96% 12M $187M (exactly $186,652,482) Nicalis, Inc., Edmund McMillen
Mortal Kombat 1 older $49.99 34,197 74% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,285,241) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Resident Evil 6 older $19.99 51,420 77% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,836,574) Capcom
Resident Evil 5 older $19.99 48,521 87% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,098,044) Capcom
Grounded 2 · EA $29.99 21,442 82% 643k $19M (exactly $19,291,367) Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos-Montréal
Gears 5 older $29.99 21,210 72% 636k $19M (exactly $19,082,637) The Coalition
REANIMAL $39.99 13,809 78% 414k $17M (exactly $16,566,657) Tarsier Studios
Resident Evil Revelations 2 older $19.99 25,446 78% 763k $15M (exactly $15,259,966) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Salt and Sanctuary older $17.99 20,081 89% 602k $11M (exactly $10,837,716) Ska Studios
Gears of War: Reloaded $39.99 3,950 61% 119k $4.7M (exactly $4,738,815) The Coalition
Blood: Refreshed Supply™ $29.99 719 71% 22k $647k (exactly $646,884) Nightdive Studios, Monolith Productions
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2: Remake $24.99 607 44% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) MegaPixel Studio S. A.
Kingdom of Night $19.99 326 86% 9.8k $196k (exactly $195,502) Friends of Safety
Escape From Mandrillia: Local Asymmetric VR+PC $12.99 181 95% 5.4k $71k (exactly $70,536) German Bandera
Stuck Together $11.99 161 88% 4.8k $58k (exactly $57,912) Hugecalf Studios

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