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Should I ship a Local Co-Op Strategy game?
Strategy + Local Co-Op
Of 141 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Strategy 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.. 204 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×348 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 204 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) |
| Top 5% | $218k (exactly $218,345) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 141 |
| Released games | 492 |
| Announced | 204 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Local Co-Op
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Local Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Local Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, 3D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 20,040 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 71 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 204 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
| 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 |
| | Overcooked! 2 | older | $24.99 | 61,956 90% | 1.9M | $46M (exactly $46,448,413) | Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17 |
| | Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition | older | $39.99 | 27,485 88% | 825k | $33M (exactly $32,973,754) | Larian Studios |
| | For The King | older | $19.99 | 31,038 87% | 931k | $19M (exactly $18,613,489) | IronOak Games |
| | DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 11,886 83% | 357k | $18M (exactly $17,825,434) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | The Escapists 2 | older | $19.99 | 26,452 90% | 794k | $16M (exactly $15,863,264) | Team17, Mouldy Toof Studios |
| | HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition | older | $19.99 | 25,663 90% | 770k | $15M (exactly $15,390,101) | Arrowhead Game Studios |
| | Stick Fight: The Game | older | $4.99 | 99,952 93% | 3.0M | $15M (exactly $14,962,814) | Landfall West |
| | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
| | Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ | older | $29.99 | 15,372 71% | 461k | $14M (exactly $13,830,188) | PopCap |
| | EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 | $69.99 | 2,583 40% | 77k | $5.4M (exactly $5,423,525) | Tiburon | |
| | Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted | $19.99 | 6,898 66% | 207k | $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) | PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels | |
| | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate | $29.99 | 4,143 83% | 124k | $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) | Super Evil Megacorp | |
| | Sunderfolk | $49.99 | 1,890 93% | 57k | $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) | Secret Door | |
| | EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 27 | $69.99 | 793 36% | 24k | $1.7M (exactly $1,665,062) | Tiburon | |
| | Unrailed 2: Back on Track | $19.99 | 1,794 88% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) | Indoor Astronaut | |
| | Eslabong | · EA | $14.99 | 1,077 95% | 32k | $484k (exactly $484,327) | shirowita |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 11 | $29.99 | 419 93% | 13k | $377k (exactly $376,974) | Jackbox Games, Inc. | |
| | Tour de France 2025 | $39.99 | 182 77% | 5.5k | $218k (exactly $218,345) | Cyanide Studio | |
| | Choppy Cuts | $16.99 | 261 75% | 7.8k | $133k (exactly $133,032) | Moco Studios I |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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