Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 166 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 174
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $5.7k → $1.1k → $3.8k → $1.5k → $1.5k → $300 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 174
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.

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 Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $720, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Local Multiplayer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.