Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Local Co-Op

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Local Co-Op game?

PvP + Local Co-Op

Of 246 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 383 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 383 games are announced against 143 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 35% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 383 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Local Co-Op
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 246
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $3.6k → $1.1k → $1.6k → $2.3k → $1.3k → $479 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Local Co-Op: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 246
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $6,997)
Top 5% $519k (exactly $519,008)
Developers, 2 yr 246
Released games 884
Announced 383
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.00

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 35% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Local Co-Op
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
PvP, Local Co-Op; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Multiplayer, Co-op, 4 Player Local
Price point
$7.00 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $7.00.

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 157,556 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $960, 1 in 4 over $6.9k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 134 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 383 games are announced against 143 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M EA SPORTS FC™ 26 2025 · $209M NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M NBA 2K26 2025 · $54M Mortal Kombat 1 2023 · $51M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition older $44.99 180,782 95% 5.4M $244M (exactly $244,001,465) Larian Studios
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 $69.99 99,773 50% 3.0M $209M (exactly $209,493,368) EA Canada, EA Romania
NBA 2K25 older $69.99 30,969 60% 929k $65M (exactly $65,025,609) Visual Concepts
NBA 2K26 $69.99 25,651 66% 770k $54M (exactly $53,859,405) Visual Concepts
Mortal Kombat 1 older $49.99 34,197 74% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,285,241) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Party Animals older $19.99 56,043 81% 1.7M $34M (exactly $33,608,987) Recreate Games
Gang Beasts older $19.99 54,880 85% 1.6M $33M (exactly $32,911,536) Boneloaf, Rocket Science
Injustice™ 2 older $49.99 17,445 86% 523k $26M (exactly $26,162,266) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds $69.99 11,479 93% 344k $24M (exactly $24,102,456) Sonic Team
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
WWE 2K25 $59.99 4,108 73% 123k $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) Visual Concepts
EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 $69.99 2,583 40% 77k $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525) Tiburon
Gears of War: Reloaded $39.99 3,950 61% 119k $4.7M (exactly $4,738,815) The Coalition
Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted $19.99 6,898 66% 207k $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels
NBA 2K27 $69.99 1,698 53% 51k $3.6M (exactly $3,565,291) Visual Concepts
EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 27 $69.99 793 36% 24k $1.7M (exactly $1,665,062) Tiburon
Cricket 26 - The Official Game of the Ashes $59.99 623 79% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,121,213) Big Ant Studios

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