Do I ship it?

GamesSouls-likeSouls-like + Local Co-Op

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Souls-like?

Souls-like + Local Co-Op

Only 9 developers shipped a Local Co-Op Souls-like 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, Grounded 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $28k, ×19 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $13k; 1 in 20 cleared $19M, ×12878 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 28 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 18.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 28 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Local Co-Op
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Souls-like + Local Co-Op: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $13k (exactly $12,949)
Median $28k (exactly $27,891)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $35,329)
Top 5% $19M (exactly $19,291,367)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 41
Announced 28
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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 40% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Local Co-Op
Price point
$11.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $13.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 333,742 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $13k, median $28k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $19M.

3 in 10 developers made under $13k. 28 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cuphead older $19.99 198,790 96% 6.0M $119M (exactly $119,214,363) Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc.
LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga older $49.99 38,294 90% 1.1M $57M (exactly $57,429,512) TT Games
Outward Definitive Edition older $39.99 24,636 72% 739k $30M (exactly $29,555,809) Nine Dots Studio
Grounded 2 · EA $29.99 21,442 82% 643k $19M (exactly $19,291,367) Obsidian Entertainment, Eidos-Montréal
Salt and Sanctuary older $17.99 20,081 89% 602k $11M (exactly $10,837,716) Ska Studios
PICO PARK older $4.99 23,751 91% 713k $3.6M (exactly $3,555,525) TECOPARK
Death Trash · EA older $19.99 3,460 91% 104k $2.1M (exactly $2,074,962) Crafting Legends
Archvale older $14.99 2,044 88% 61k $919k (exactly $919,187) idoz & phops
Perennial Order older $19.99 687 93% 21k $412k (exactly $411,994) Gardenfiend Games
The Last Oricru - Final Cut older $19.99 557 67% 17k $334k (exactly $334,033) GoldKnights
Tearscape $14.99 334 90% 10k $150k (exactly $150,200) NERDS TAKE OVER
Sex With Friends $4.99 236 94% 7.1k $35k (exactly $35,329) B-Team
Soul Chained $6.99 149 71% 4.5k $31k (exactly $31,245) Andrew Nicolaou
Slime Heroes $29.99 31 67% 930 $28k (exactly $27,891) Pancake Games
Nullpoint Protocol $14.99 62 61% 1.9k $28k (exactly $27,881) Everbloom Games
Goldilock One: The Mists of Jakaira · EA $11.99 36 83% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Shed of Ideas
Kingdoms And Slaves $6.99 23 82% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) TGM
Sundered Soul: Chains of the Undying $7.99 11 100% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Aeoln Studios

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