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Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Rhythm game?
Local Multiplayer + Rhythm
Of 21 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Rhythm 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.. 27 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $4.6M, ×9852 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 27 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 5% | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 70 |
| Announced | 27 |
| 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 up 75% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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
- Rhythm
- effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Local Multiplayer, Rhythm; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Local Co-Op
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 40,838 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
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
Rhythm Doctor 2025 · $15M 
Just Shapes & Beats 2018 · $14M 
Rocksmith® 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY 2024 · $4.7M 
AudioSurf 2008 · $2.7M 
Audiosurf 2 2015 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
| | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
| | Rocksmith® 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY | $9.99 | 15,615 85% | 468k | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) | Ubisoft - San Francisco, Ubisoft - Osaka | |
| | AudioSurf | older | $9.99 | 8,901 95% | 267k | $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) | Dylan Fitterer |
| | Audiosurf 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,364 82% | 161k | $2.4M (exactly $2,412,191) | Dylan Fitterer |
 | Ragnarock | older | $24.99 | 2,775 94% | 83k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,417) | WanadevStudio |
 | AVICII Invector | older | $19.99 | 2,058 97% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,183) | Hello There Games |
 | Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) | · EA older | $14.99 | 2,452 95% | 74k | $1.1M (exactly $1,102,664) | Vitamin Games |
 | The Jackbox Party Pack 10 | older | $29.99 | 500 65% | 15k | $450k (exactly $449,850) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
 | LUMINES REMASTERED | older | $14.99 | 707 95% | 21k | $318k (exactly $317,938) | Resonair |
 | Barbie Project Friendship™ | $39.99 | 41 80% | 1.2k | $49k (exactly $49,188) | Xaloc Studios, Casual Brothers Ltd. | |
 | Bratz® Rhythm & Style | $39.99 | 30 76% | 900 | $36k (exactly $35,991) | Recotechnology S.L. | |
 | Lunars | · EA | $14.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | Anubis Arts |
 | MAGICAL BEAT | $9.99 | 29 79% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Arc System Works, APLUS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Bop It! The Video Game | $7.99 | 35 94% | 1.1k | $8.4k (exactly $8,390) | Alliance | |
 | Tomo Jam | · EA | $6.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $3.1k (exactly $3,146) | Restless Games |
 | Catch Flex | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Vilegacy | |
 | MACHO DE PON! for Steam | $8.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) | Sting |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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