Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Level Editor game?

Online Co-Op + Level Editor

Of 36 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Level Editor 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.. 111 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $19k, ×13 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×1718 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 111 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 111 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $32k → $44k → $225k → $9.6k → $123k → $19k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $19k (exactly $19,064)
Top 25% $171k (exactly $171,336)
Top 5% $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 125
Announced 111
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 65% on the market, supply 160% 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
Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Strategy, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 22,119 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $19k, 1 in 4 over $170k, 1 in 20 over $2.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 5 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 111 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition older $34.99 37,093 84% 1.1M $39M (exactly $38,936,522) World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires)
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Age of Mythology: Retold older $29.99 20,943 90% 628k $19M (exactly $18,842,417) World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantal… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games)
Ultimate Chicken Horse older $14.99 41,060 95% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,464,682) Clever Endeavour Games
Solasta: Crown of the Magister older $29.99 19,680 87% 590k $18M (exactly $17,706,096) Tactical Adventures
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Escape Simulator older $19.99 16,496 94% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) Pine Studio
Men of War II older $44.99 5,614 60% 168k $7.6M (exactly $7,577,216) Best Way
Mindustry older $9.99 24,608 95% 738k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,018) AnukenDev
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
Unrailed 2: Back on Track $19.99 1,794 88% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) Indoor Astronaut
Wreckreation $39.99 360 63% 11k $432k (exactly $431,892) Three Fields Entertainment
Warside $24.99 547 68% 16k $410k (exactly $410,086) LAVABIRD
Witch's Apocalyptic Journey $8.99 1,282 84% 38k $346k (exactly $345,755) MeowAlive
Torque Drift 2 · EA $19.99 376 62% 11k $225k (exactly $225,487) Grease Monkey Games
Overthrown $24.99 255 55% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Brimstone
HYPERBEAT $14.99 381 99% 11k $171k (exactly $171,336) Dreamware Media
Backrooms Media $7.99 546 39% 16k $131k (exactly $130,876) NPK Games

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