Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Psychological

Of 56 developers who shipped a Psychological Online Co-Op 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.. 86 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×611 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 86 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 86 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $6.5k → $897 → $899 → $1.5k → $1.9k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,266)
Top 5% $916k (exactly $915,883)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 111
Announced 86
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 140% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Online Co-Op
effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, PvP, Survival
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 22,972 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Bullet HeavenStrong odds27 devs · median $9.3k · 38 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair31 devs · median $14k · 32 announced
  3. + TypingFair16 devs · median $5.0k · 12 announced
  4. + GamblingFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Point & ClickFair28 devs · median $1.7k · 34 announced
  6. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds29 devs · median $443k · 70 announced
  7. + TransportationPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  8. + JRPGPoor odds11 devs · median $346k · 16 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds72 devs · median $217k · 139 announced
  10. + World War IIPoor odds10 devs · median $188k · 18 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds20 devs · median $95k · 18 announced

All 211 pairs on the Online Co-Op page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 $69.99 4,344 37% 130k $9.1M (exactly $9,121,097) Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High… (Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Activision Shanghai, Demonware)
Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek $7.99 7,141 75% 214k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) Rayll
Among Us 3D $9.99 3,056 72% 92k $916k (exactly $915,883) Schell Games, Innersloth
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Project Planet - Earth vs Humanity older $24.99 361 78% 11k $271k (exactly $270,642) Fifth Harbour Studios
The Backrooms: Survival older $9.99 881 82% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) RE:CODE
Haunt Chaser older $14.99 570 67% 17k $256k (exactly $256,329) Clock Wizard Games
Anomaly Exit older $5.99 1,118 89% 34k $201k (exactly $200,905) ExamlGuy
Escape: Malice older $7.99 815 17% 24k $195k (exactly $195,356) Nimbus Games
WE ARE SO DEAD · EA $7.99 672 73% 20k $161k (exactly $161,078) REAL PLAYERS
CUFFBUST $9.99 508 52% 15k $152k (exactly $152,248) Two Star Games
Climb The Backrooms $4.99 1,013 81% 30k $152k (exactly $151,646) LovDEV
The Anomaly Project $7.99 531 81% 16k $127k (exactly $127,281) Kekdot
WISE GUYS · EA $8.99 194 90% 5.8k $52k (exactly $52,322) StonieDude
Cut That Wire $6.99 243 84% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,957) WakaStudio

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