Do I ship it?

Games › Local Co-Op › Local Co-Op + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Resource Management game?

Local Co-Op + Resource Management

Only 19 developers shipped a Local Co-Op Resource Management game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Wild Woods, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 60 more are announced, ×6.0 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 $270; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×1653 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 60 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 60 announced, ×6.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $8.4k → $63k → $179 → $8.2k → $11k (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,698)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $65,391)
Top 5% $785k (exactly $785,176)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 59
Announced 60
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cartoony, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,197 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $65k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 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

Outward Definitive Edition 2022 · $30M Wingspan 2020 · $5.9M Football, Tactics & Glory 2018 · $3.0M AO Tennis 2 2020 · $1.9M Wild Woods 2024 · EA · $785k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Outward Definitive Edition older $39.99 24,636 72% 739k $30M (exactly $29,555,809) Nine Dots Studio
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
Football, Tactics & Glory older $24.99 3,998 87% 120k $3.0M (exactly $2,997,301) Creoteam
AO Tennis 2 older $49.99 1,236 70% 37k $1.9M (exactly $1,853,629) Big Ant Studios
Wild Woods · EA $14.99 1,746 78% 52k $785k (exactly $785,176) Octofox Games
Arcade Paradise older $19.99 1,213 85% 36k $727k (exactly $727,436) Nosebleed Interactive
USAC: Code Breach older $14.99 1,067 91% 32k $480k (exactly $479,830) Questions Factory
Ticket to Ride® older $14.99 1,057 69% 32k $475k (exactly $475,333) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Star Shelter older $19.99 403 78% 12k $242k (exactly $241,679) Overflow
Bone's Cafe older $14.99 340 96% 10k $153k (exactly $152,898) Acute Owl Studio
DSS 2: War Industry $17.99 183 83% 5.5k $99k (exactly $98,765) vikingfabian
Apocalypse Express $9.99 262 81% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,521) Llamaware Studios
Diner Bros 2 $14.99 147 87% 4.4k $66k (exactly $66,106) JAYFLGAMES
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
Monarchy $14.99 47 78% 1.4k $21k (exactly $21,136) Brain Seal Ltd
Neopets - Mega Mini Games Collection - The Neopian Arcade Odyssey $9.99 38 31% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) No Gravity Games
Delta Manager · EA $12.99 28 92% 840 $11k (exactly $10,912) Fassi Blue
Elsewhere Electric $24.99 11 27% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Games by Stitch
Kopi · EA $14.99 6 50% 180 $2.7k (exactly $2,698) Dream on a Stick Limited

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