Do I ship it?

GamesLocal Co-OpLocal Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Puzzle Platformer?

Local Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer

Of 82 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Puzzle Platformer 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.. 105 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×770 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 105 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 105 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 82
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $33k → $5.7k → $150 → $4.2k → $2.4k → $4.2k → $629 (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 82
Bottom 30% $597 (exactly $597)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,698)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,592)
Top 5% $366k (exactly $365,606)
Developers, 2 yr 82
Released games 296
Announced 105
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 25% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Puzzle Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, Physics
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Cute, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 86,259 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 105 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Human Fall Flat older $19.99 174,835 94% 5.2M $105M (exactly $104,848,549) No Brakes Games
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince older $29.99 11,712 88% 351k $11M (exactly $10,537,286) Frozenbyte
Trine 2: Complete Story older $19.99 15,273 95% 458k $9.2M (exactly $9,159,218) Frozenbyte
Trine Enchanted Edition older $14.99 12,843 95% 385k $5.8M (exactly $5,775,497) Frozenbyte
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power older $21.99 7,301 63% 219k $4.8M (exactly $4,816,470) Frozenbyte
Super Bunny Man older $14.99 10,143 85% 304k $4.6M (exactly $4,561,307) Catobyte
Unravel Two older $19.99 7,480 78% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,756) Coldwood Interactive
LEGO® Voyagers $24.99 1,859 88% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) Light Brick Studio
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar $19.99 613 97% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) Abandoned Sheep
Biped 2 $14.99 813 71% 24k $366k (exactly $365,606) META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios)
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Log Riders $4.99 660 70% 20k $99k (exactly $98,802) Bluespy Studios
Chained Wheels $4.99 619 69% 19k $93k (exactly $92,664) Karga Games
Brave Escape $19.99 145 97% 4.4k $87k (exactly $86,956) Hit Start Studios
All Hands on Deck $12.99 90 71% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,073) Studio Mantasaur, Wikkl

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