Do I ship it?

Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Inventory Management game?

Online Co-Op + Inventory Management

Of 98 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Inventory Management 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.. 244 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $9.7k, ×6.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×1889 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 244 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 244 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 98
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $1.8M → $6.0k → $30k → $34k → $49k → $6.6k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 98
Bottom 30% $2.3k (exactly $2,308)
Median $9.7k (exactly $9,656)
Top 25% $149k (exactly $149,276)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,829,984)
Developers, 2 yr 98
Released games 177
Announced 244
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 40% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op, Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, PvE, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 561,156 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $9.7k, 1 in 4 over $140k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 5 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 244 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different second tag, 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

ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M Path of Exile 2 2024 · EA · $151M Marathon 2026 · $54M Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr 2018 · $29M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARC Raiders $39.99 299,346 82% 9.0M $359M (exactly $359,125,396) Embark Studios
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr older $49.99 19,552 75% 587k $29M (exactly $29,322,134) NeocoreGames
Titan Quest II · EA $34.99 17,398 81% 522k $18M (exactly $18,262,681) Grimlore Games
Survive the Nights $19.99 4,719 68% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,829,984) a2z Interactive
Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 older $24.99 3,634 77% 109k $2.7M (exactly $2,724,410) Games Incubator, Hypnotic Ants
Grocery Store Simulator $14.99 5,337 90% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) EXPERIMENT ONE
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Roadside Research · EA $14.99 3,991 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) Cybernetic Walrus
Wrap House Simulator🌯 $14.99 2,951 87% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games
Old Market Simulator $9.99 4,333 87% 130k $1.3M (exactly $1,298,600) Alcedo Games

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