Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Social Deduction game?

Online Co-Op + Social Deduction

Of 61 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Social Deduction 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.. 102 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×152 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 102 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 102 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Social Deduction
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $67k → $3.1k → $6.3k → $5.7k → $1.5k → $3.0k (still earning) → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Social Deduction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,486)
Top 5% $228k (exactly $228,154)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 125
Announced 102
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 45% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Social Deduction
effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op, Social Deduction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Action, Co-op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 19,455 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 102 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Online Co-Op with a different second tag, 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

Among Us 2018 · $99M In Silence 2021 · $2.8M MIMESIS 2025 · EA · $2.5M Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies 2024 · $1.9M First Class Trouble 2021 · $1.4M
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
In Silence older $9.99 9,450 75% 284k $2.8M (exactly $2,832,165) Ravenhood Games
MIMESIS · EA $9.99 8,396 84% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,516,281) ReLU Games, Inc.
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies older $7.99 7,792 91% 234k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,742) Striped Panda Studios
First Class Trouble older $14.99 3,103 79% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,395,419) Invisible Walls
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Oh Deer older $9.99 2,125 84% 64k $637k (exactly $636,862) Cozy Cabin Studios
Sinister Night 2 $9.99 1,800 86% 54k $539k (exactly $539,460) Bug Inventors
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Agrou older $4.99 2,267 86% 68k $339k (exactly $339,370) Osmose Studio
Scam Line · EA $6.99 1,088 84% 33k $228k (exactly $228,154) RavenJm
BACKROOMS: APPREHENSION $2.99 1,371 83% 41k $123k (exactly $122,979) DMNT Interactive
Airport Security Sucks! $7.99 458 85% 14k $110k (exactly $109,783) JakeHub, Metater
MISTERY $11.99 290 64% 8.7k $104k (exactly $104,313) Game Frontier
Cursed Companions $8.99 345 79% 10k $93k (exactly $93,046) Crimson Forge Studios
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.