Do I ship it?

GamesLocal Co-OpLocal Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Co-Op Twin Stick Shooter?

Local Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 43 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Twin Stick Shooter 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.. 62 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $44k, ×93 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 62 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 62 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $1.9k → $1.3k → $7.9k → $599 → $2.6k → $1.8k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $7.9k (exactly $7,913)
Top 5% $44k (exactly $44,056)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 260
Announced 62
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 75% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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, Twin Stick Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Co-op
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,661 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $44k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
Nuclear Throne older $11.99 15,047 96% 451k $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) Vlambeer
Nine Parchments older $19.99 4,123 77% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) Frozenbyte
X-Morph: Defense older $19.99 3,272 90% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,962,218) EXOR Studios
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Beat Hazard older $9.99 5,072 95% 152k $1.5M (exactly $1,520,078) Cold Beam Games
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Survivor Mercs $9.99 147 70% 4.4k $44k (exactly $44,056) Wolpertinger Games
Vortica $14.99 93 83% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Vortical Studios
Ammo and Oxygen $14.99 53 64% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) Juvty Worlds
Aaero2 $14.99 36 94% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Mad Fellows
Calcium Chaos $9.99 52 96% 1.6k $16k (exactly $15,584) Lunch Money Games
M.O.O.D.S. $12.99 29 82% 870 $11k (exactly $11,301) StickyStoneStudio
Galactic Thunderdome $9.99 35 100% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Pansimula
Legacy Of Evil $9.99 28 85% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Uruca Game Studio

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