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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Idler?
Online Co-Op + Idler
Of 36 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Idler 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.. 62 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $69k, ×46 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 62 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $807 (exactly $807) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $5.0k (exactly $5,027) |
| Top 5% | $69k (exactly $69,184) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 83 |
| Announced | 62 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 39%, 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
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Idler; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Character Customization, Automation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,447 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kukoro: Stream chat games | older | $4.99 | 913 97% | 27k | $137k (exactly $136,676) | HeyNau |
| | PropHunter | · EA older | $3.99 | 917 79% | 28k | $110k (exactly $109,765) | Alone Fox Games |
| | GeckoShop | $9.99 | 342 66% | 10k | $102k (exactly $102,497) | Reptoid | |
| | NoSlack Pets: Lo-Fi Paws | $5.99 | 385 97% | 12k | $69k (exactly $69,184) | Lynkpin Game | |
| | Eggo | $5.99 | 310 83% | 9.3k | $56k (exactly $55,707) | 天赋一饼 Meme Crepe | |
| | Tumbleweed Destiny | older | $2.99 | 352 95% | 11k | $32k (exactly $31,574) | KIMIDORI SOFT |
| | Escape From Monster | older | $4.99 | 206 70% | 6.2k | $31k (exactly $30,838) | Thunder Games |
| | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
| | Nano Neighbors | $7.99 | 112 76% | 3.4k | $27k (exactly $26,846) | Studio BitDot | |
| | Old Coin Pusher Friends 3 | older | $3.99 | 212 91% | 6.4k | $25k (exactly $25,376) | STP WORKS |
| | Rune Legacy Idle | $4.99 | 116 55% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | Mume Games | |
| | Idle Together | $6.99 | 37 75% | 1.1k | $7.8k (exactly $7,759) | Eragone | |
| | Galactic Simulator | $4.99 | 46 76% | 1.4k | $6.9k (exactly $6,886) | PcZ Games | |
| | Lofi Haven | $7.99 | 21 95% | 630 | $5.0k (exactly $5,034) | Meow Games | |
| | Nekotype Keyboard Cat Simulator | $3.99 | 42 100% | 1.3k | $5.0k (exactly $5,027) | G-GAME | |
| | Ball Scooping Friends | $3.99 | 36 83% | 1.1k | $4.3k (exactly $4,309) | STP WORKS |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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