Games › MOBA › MOBA + Online Co-Op
Should I ship an Online Co-Op MOBA?
MOBA + Online Co-Op
Only 19 developers shipped a paid Online Co-Op MOBA 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, Shape of Dreams, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 6 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 57 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 57 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper, while revenue is up 625% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $600 (exactly $600) |
| Top 25% | $86k (exactly $86,227) |
| Top 5% | $12M (exactly $11,822,019) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 127 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 9 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 625% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 58%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- MOBA
- effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus a balanced hero roster
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
What it takes
- Effort
- 9 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- MOBA, Online Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 23,632 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 6 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
MOBA with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + FantasyPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Hero ShooterDead
- + SurvivalDead
- + Battle RoyaleDead
Comparable games
FOR HONOR™ 2017 · $98M 
NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER 2023 · $26M 
Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M 
Awesomenauts 2012 · $7.1M 
Wild Assault 2026 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FOR HONOR™ | older | $29.99 | 108,492 69% | 3.3M | $98M (exactly $97,610,252) | Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Blue Byte) |
| | NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER | older | $19.99 | 42,572 84% | 1.3M | $26M (exactly $25,530,428) | Soleil Ltd. |
| | Shape of Dreams | $24.99 | 15,769 89% | 473k | $12M (exactly $11,822,019) | Lizard Smoothie | |
| | Awesomenauts | older | $19.99 | 11,822 84% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,089,653) | Ronimo Games |
| | Wild Assault | $14.99 | 3,861 68% | 116k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,292) | Combat Cat Studio | |
 | Bleeding Edge | older | $29.99 | 1,411 66% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,269,477) | Ninja Theory |
 | BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS | older | $49.99 | 832 75% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,247,750) | ILINX, Inc. |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Last Remains | · EA | $19.99 | 914 51% | 27k | $548k (exactly $548,126) | Earn Alliance |
 | Last Flag | $4.99 | 576 73% | 17k | $86k (exactly $86,227) | Night Street Games | |
 | Jelly Bubble | $9.99 | 170 99% | 5.1k | $51k (exactly $50,949) | BINGOBELL | |
 | The AC130 slays the zombies. | $3.99 | 377 63% | 11k | $45k (exactly $45,127) | 汪双羽 | |
 | NeverCOM | · EA | $4.99 | 49 95% | 1.5k | $7.3k (exactly $7,335) | Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co.… (Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co., Ltd) |
 | Adversator | $8.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $2.4k (exactly $2,427) | Paradoks | |
 | Guardians Of Gaia | $19.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $600 (exactly $600) | Handmade Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.