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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Strategy RPG?
Online Co-Op + Strategy RPG
Of 33 developers who shipped a paid Online Co-Op Strategy RPG 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 74 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 $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 74 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 20% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $20,693) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 74 |
| 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 20% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 41%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Strategy RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Co-op, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 8,159 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
For The King 2018 · $19M 
Solasta: Crown of the Magister 2021 · $18M 
Jagged Alliance 3 2023 · $15M 
Dungeon Defenders 2011 · $5.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
| | For The King | older | $19.99 | 31,038 87% | 931k | $19M (exactly $18,613,489) | IronOak Games |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Jagged Alliance 3 | older | $44.99 | 10,882 89% | 326k | $15M (exactly $14,687,435) | Haemimont Games |
| | Dungeon Defenders | older | $14.99 | 12,148 93% | 364k | $5.5M (exactly $5,462,956) | Chromatic Games |
 | Dungeons 4 | older | $49.99 | 2,392 86% | 72k | $3.6M (exactly $3,587,282) | Realmforge Studios |
 | Solasta II | · EA | $39.99 | 2,931 75% | 88k | $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) | Tactical Adventures |
 | Wargroove | older | $19.99 | 4,015 83% | 120k | $2.4M (exactly $2,407,796) | Chucklefish |
 | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | DEFCON | older | $11.99 | 3,460 86% | 104k | $1.2M (exactly $1,244,562) | Introversion Software |
 | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
 | Frosthaven | · EA | $39.99 | 814 72% | 24k | $977k (exactly $976,556) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
 | Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent | $34.99 | 441 75% | 13k | $463k (exactly $462,918) | Artefacts Studio, Shine Group | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Forsworn | $15.99 | 187 90% | 5.6k | $90k (exactly $89,704) | Resummon Studios LLC | |
 | Evolve or Die | $4.99 | 252 98% | 7.6k | $38k (exactly $37,724) | Seal | |
 | The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 | · EA | $29.99 | 23 60% | 690 | $21k (exactly $20,693) | Ashborne Games |
 | Puropu Defense Squad | $9.99 | 28 57% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | PlayTogether Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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