Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Puzzle Platformer?

Local Multiplayer + Puzzle Platformer

Of 67 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Puzzle Platformer 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.. 79 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×576 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 79 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 79 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 67
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $33k → $5.7k → $1.9k → $4.2k → $2.4k → $4.2k → $299 (still earning) → $683 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 67
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $9.2k (exactly $9,170)
Top 5% $273k (exactly $273,449)
Developers, 2 yr 67
Released games 221
Announced 79
Effort 4 / 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 65% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 Platformer
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 Multiplayer, Puzzle Platformer; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, Local Co-Op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 83,223 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 $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $9.1k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 40 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
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) 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
Catherine Classic older $19.99 8,858 88% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,312,143) ATLUS
Super Bunny Man older $14.99 10,143 85% 304k $4.6M (exactly $4,561,307) Catobyte
Unravel Two older $19.99 7,480 78% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,756) Coldwood Interactive
PICO PARK older $4.99 23,751 91% 713k $3.6M (exactly $3,555,525) TECOPARK
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) older $14.99 5,812 81% 174k $2.6M (exactly $2,613,656) Upper One Games, E-Line Media
Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy older $29.99 2,524 89% 76k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,843) Frozenbyte
LEGO® Voyagers $24.99 1,859 88% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,393,692) Light Brick Studio
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Level Devil $6.99 1,304 91% 39k $273k (exactly $273,449) Unept
Log Riders $4.99 660 70% 20k $99k (exactly $98,802) Bluespy Studios
All Hands on Deck $12.99 90 71% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,073) Studio Mantasaur, Wikkl
Wirm $6.99 147 93% 4.4k $31k (exactly $30,826) Sbug Games
An Eggstremely Hard Game $4.99 196 84% 5.9k $29k (exactly $29,341) BBear Studio
SNOW BROS. SPECIAL: ANNIVERSARY EDITION $29.99 32 78% 960 $29k (exactly $28,790) CRT GAMES
UniDuni $11.99 61 95% 1.8k $22k (exactly $21,942) Clops Game Studio

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