Do I ship it?

Games › Local Co-Op › Local Co-Op + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Runner?

Local Co-Op + Runner

Only 15 developers shipped a Local Co-Op Runner 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, VHOLUME, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $210, ×0.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 285% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 285% on the market, 20 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $210 → $6.0k → $90 → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $210 (exactly $210)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,988)
Top 5% $718k (exactly $718,080)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 48
Announced 20
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 285% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Runner
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, Runner; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, 3D Platformer
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 3,193 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $210, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

VHOLUME 2026 · $718k Mighty Goose 2021 · $566k Summer Catchers 2019 · $94k I Hate Running Backwards 2018 · $85k Joggernauts 2018 · $40k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
VHOLUME $8.00 2,992 97% 90k $718k (exactly $718,080) Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin)
Mighty Goose older $19.99 943 86% 28k $566k (exactly $565,517) Blastmode, MP2 Games
Summer Catchers older $8.99 347 80% 10k $94k (exactly $93,586) FaceIT
I Hate Running Backwards older $14.99 188 71% 5.6k $85k (exactly $84,544) Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam
Joggernauts older $14.99 88 89% 2.6k $40k (exactly $39,574) Space Mace
Elevator Action™ -Returns- S-Tribute older $14.99 78 87% 2.3k $35k (exactly $35,077) CITY CONNECTION
Care Bears: To The Rescue $14.99 54 98% 1.6k $24k (exactly $24,284) Polygoat
Kitchen Simulator 2 older $4.99 80 48% 2.4k $12k (exactly $11,976) WhackAKey Games
Drunk Builder Simulator $2.99 78 39% 2.3k $7.0k (exactly $6,997) Viper
Only Out $4.99 40 95% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Shark Studio
Go Ahead $5.49 15 86% 450 $2.5k (exactly $2,470) Broken Project
Tetro Runner $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Rollmop Games Studio
Zohran's Run $2.99 5 100% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Cait Camelia, Kaif Gilani, Keanan Pucci… (Cait Camelia, Kaif Gilani, Keanan Pucci, Christopher Kovalik Gandhi, Sophie Abromowitz, Anup Kishore, Adriano Valle Hernandez, Patrick So, Kyle Brown-Watson, Sophie Abromowitz, Ryan Lam, Nadia Taylor Riddick, Noah Cutwright, Matthew Hamilton-Roux, Music by CHiPS, Russell Matney, Ashley Chen, Marissa Koors)
Maze Racer Balls $6.99 1 100% 30 $210 (exactly $210) Imperiarte Games
Sky Reach $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Pat-o-Logic Studio, Socially Awkward Or… (Pat-o-Logic Studio, Socially Awkward Orchestra)
Manda Duo $1.99 2 100% 60 $119 (exactly $119) GreenBox

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