Do I ship it?

GamesLocal Co-OpLocal Co-Op + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Roguelike?

Local Co-Op + Roguelike

Of 88 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Roguelike 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.. 143 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2265 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 143 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 143 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $94k → $6.4k → $5.5k → $1.8k → $3.4k → $7.3k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,639)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 315
Announced 143
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 30% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Roguelike
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, Roguelike; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Co-op
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 30,208 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 $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth older $14.99 415,060 96% 12M $187M (exactly $186,652,482) Nicalis, Inc., Edmund McMillen
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
For The King older $19.99 31,038 87% 931k $19M (exactly $18,613,489) IronOak Games
Brotato older $4.99 111,407 95% 3.3M $17M (exactly $16,677,628) Blobfish
Children of Morta older $21.99 18,213 88% 546k $12M (exactly $12,015,116) Dead Mage
Spelunky 2 older $19.99 19,736 93% 592k $12M (exactly $11,835,679) Mossmouth, BlitWorks
Risk of Rain Returns older $14.99 24,795 89% 744k $11M (exactly $11,150,312) Hopoo Games
PlateUp! older $19.99 18,500 94% 555k $11M (exactly $11,094,450) It's happening
Crypt of the NecroDancer older $14.99 23,593 95% 708k $11M (exactly $10,609,772) Brace Yourself Games
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Lost Castle 2 $17.99 10,851 78% 326k $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) Hunter Studio
Pathogenic $9.99 4,145 92% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,256) Aberrant Labs
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
Unrailed 2: Back on Track $19.99 1,794 88% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) Indoor Astronaut
Noobs Are Coming $7.99 1,580 82% 47k $379k (exactly $378,726) Overboy
Abandoned Archive $5.99 749 93% 22k $135k (exactly $134,595) Vedal
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Apocalypse Express $9.99 262 81% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,521) Llamaware Studios
Final Knight · EA $13.99 180 77% 5.4k $76k (exactly $75,546) 2oclocksoft

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