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Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Puzzle game?
Local Multiplayer + Puzzle
Of 174 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Puzzle 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.. 166 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×576 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 166 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $6.2k (exactly $6,235) |
| Top 5% | $273k (exactly $273,449) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 174 |
| Released games | 592 |
| Announced | 166 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Local Multiplayer, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Local Co-Op, Co-op, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Family Friendly, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 28,600 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 166 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Local Multiplayer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HockeyStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Action RPGFair
- + Hex GridFair
- + ModernFair
- + WargameFair
- + TennisFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + SportsFair
- + RunnerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Human Fall Flat | older | $19.99 | 174,835 94% | 5.2M | $105M (exactly $104,848,549) | No Brakes Games |
| | BattleBlock Theater® | older | $14.99 | 55,793 97% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,090,112) | The Behemoth |
| | REANIMAL | $39.99 | 13,809 78% | 414k | $17M (exactly $16,566,657) | Tarsier Studios | |
| | Untitled Goose Game | older | $19.99 | 22,797 95% | 684k | $14M (exactly $13,671,361) | House House |
| | LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes | older | $19.99 | 22,663 95% | 680k | $14M (exactly $13,591,001) | Traveller's Tales |
| | LEGO® Star Wars™ - The Complete Saga | older | $19.99 | 20,768 96% | 623k | $12M (exactly $12,454,570) | Traveller's Tales |
| | Tetris® Effect: Connected | older | $39.99 | 8,429 94% | 253k | $10M (exactly $10,112,271) | Monstars Inc., Resonair, Stage Games |
| | LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame | older | $19.99 | 12,850 89% | 386k | $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) | Traveller's Tales |
| | Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes | older | $14.99 | 14,331 97% | 430k | $6.4M (exactly $6,444,651) | Steel Crate Games |
| | UFO 50 | $24.99 | 7,134 94% | 214k | $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) | Mossmouth | |
| | LEGO® Harry Potter™ Collection | $39.99 | 1,464 82% | 44k | $1.8M (exactly $1,756,361) | TT Games, Double Eleven | |
| | LEGO® Voyagers | $24.99 | 1,859 88% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) | Light Brick Studio | |
| | Lumines Arise | $39.99 | 848 94% | 25k | $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) | Enhance, Monstars Inc. | |
| | World of Goo 2 | $29.99 | 801 87% | 24k | $721k (exactly $720,660) | 2D BOY, Tomorrow Corporation | |
| | Tetris® Forever | $34.99 | 304 74% | 9.1k | $319k (exactly $319,109) | Digital Eclipse | |
| | WheelMates | $19.99 | 496 75% | 15k | $297k (exactly $297,451) | Firevolt | |
| | Level Devil | $6.99 | 1,304 91% | 39k | $273k (exactly $273,449) | Unept | |
| | The Conquest of Go | $14.99 | 581 94% | 17k | $261k (exactly $261,276) | Wolfey Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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