Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Online Co-Op game?

Online Co-Op + Robots

Of 51 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 115 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.8k, ×3.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $800k, ×539 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 115 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 115 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $177k → $267 → $11k → $25k → $23k → $600 (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $5.8k (exactly $5,753)
Top 25% $75k (exactly $74,650)
Top 5% $808k (exactly $807,931)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 148
Announced 115
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 90% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Combat
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 377,614 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $5.8k, 1 in 4 over $74k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 115 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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
R.E.P.O. · EA $9.99 341,004 96% 10M $102M (exactly $102,198,899) semiwork
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone older $19.99 36,084 96% 1.1M $22M (exactly $21,639,575) Doborog Games
Far Far West · EA $19.99 31,458 95% 944k $19M (exactly $18,865,363) Evil Raptor
TerraTech older $24.99 20,564 92% 617k $15M (exactly $15,416,831) Payload Studios
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 older $59.99 6,225 69% 187k $11M (exactly $11,203,132) SANDLOT
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS older $29.99 11,401 84% 342k $10M (exactly $10,257,480) Planetary Annihilation Inc
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE older $59.99 4,892 62% 147k $8.8M (exactly $8,804,132) ARTDINK
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair older $19.99 7,776 95% 233k $4.7M (exactly $4,663,267) SANDLOT
Exoprimal older $59.99 2,581 76% 77k $4.6M (exactly $4,645,026) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Meta Ghost: Breaking Show $17.99 1,497 72% 45k $808k (exactly $807,931) Scarecrow Studio
LEGO® Horizon Adventures™ $39.99 403 60% 12k $483k (exactly $483,479) Guerrilla Games, Studio Gobo
Cargo Hunters · EA $19.99 739 82% 22k $443k (exactly $443,178) Order Of Meta
Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense $19.99 706 85% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Element Studios
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games
BREAK ARTS III $17.99 334 80% 10k $180k (exactly $180,260) MercuryStudio
Desecrators $14.99 327 96% 9.8k $147k (exactly $147,052) Woodhound
Warden's Will $14.99 304 70% 9.1k $137k (exactly $136,709) ELYZIO

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