Do I ship it?

GamesLocal Co-OpLocal Co-Op + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Local Co-Op game?

Local Co-Op + Underground

Only 8 developers shipped an Underground Local Co-Op game 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, iDigging, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 8 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.4k against a market of $480. 8 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 8 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Co-Op + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $1.5k → $180 → $1.4k
Outcomes for Local Co-Op + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,391)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 26
Announced 8
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

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
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
Price point
$5.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 4,654 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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
Lumencraft older $19.99 1,086 75% 33k $651k (exactly $651,274) 2Dynamic Games
Never Return · EA older $13.99 1,453 73% 44k $610k (exactly $609,824) YeMuNetWork
Super Motherload older $14.99 784 77% 24k $353k (exactly $352,565) XGen Studios
Ants Took My Eyeball older $12.99 248 93% 7.4k $97k (exactly $96,646) Bosmic Forge
iDigging $2.99 729 69% 22k $65k (exactly $65,391) TWEN
Golazo! 2 older $14.99 109 77% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Purple Tree S R L
Madorica Real Estate 2 - The mystery of the new property - older $19.99 49 93% 1.5k $29k (exactly $29,385) GIFT TEN INDUSTRY K.K., TUMBLEWEEDJP
Fossil Hunters older $14.99 47 74% 1.4k $21k (exactly $21,136) Reptoid Games
holedown older $9.99 54 85% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) grapefrukt games
Stones of Sorrow older $2.99 95 53% 2.9k $8.5k (exactly $8,522) Cult Software
Bugscraper $9.99 28 96% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Yolwoocle, OLX, Verbaudet, Ninesliced
Elsewhere Electric $24.99 11 27% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Games by Stitch
Arm of Satan: Chapter 1 $7.99 6 100% 180 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Ludophoria
Silent Fleet $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Fishpack
Hell Loop $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Tuncay Ayanoglu
Traxion 2 $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Play With Fire UG
Rabbit vs Mole $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Atrox Studio

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