Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Swordplay
Should I ship an Online Co-Op Swordplay game?
Online Co-Op + Swordplay
Of 23 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Swordplay 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.. 45 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×2.9 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $3.6M, ×2428 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 45 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $597 (exactly $597) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.3k (exactly $4,287) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $74,200) |
| Top 5% | $3.6M (exactly $3,637,194) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 60 |
| Announced | 45 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Swordplay; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Co-op
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 71% positive over 12,057 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition | older | $39.99 | 322,072 88% | 9.7M | $386M (exactly $386,389,778) | Rare Ltd |
| | 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) |
| | MORDHAU | older | $29.99 | 91,678 80% | 2.8M | $82M (exactly $82,482,697) | Triternion |
| | Granblue Fantasy: Relink | older | $39.99 | 41,227 89% | 1.2M | $49M (exactly $49,460,032) | Cygames, Inc. |
| | Clone Drone in the Danger Zone | older | $19.99 | 36,084 96% | 1.1M | $22M (exactly $21,639,575) | Doborog Games |
| | Absolver | older | $29.99 | 11,464 74% | 344k | $10M (exactly $10,314,161) | Sloclap |
| | Rise of the Ronin | $49.99 | 6,503 64% | 195k | $9.8M (exactly $9,752,549) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream | $59.99 | 2,021 64% | 61k | $3.6M (exactly $3,637,194) | Dimps Corporation | |
| | Legendary Tales | older | $39.99 | 2,711 76% | 81k | $3.3M (exactly $3,252,387) | Urban Wolf Games Inc. |
| | SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris | older | $19.99 | 5,017 61% | 151k | $3.0M (exactly $3,008,695) | AQURIA Co., Ltd. |
| | LIZARDS MUST DIE 2 | $9.99 | 2,232 94% | 67k | $669k (exactly $668,930) | the Bratans, Smola Game Studio | |
| | Forgotten Seas | $24.99 | 475 75% | 14k | $356k (exactly $356,108) | Pangea Game Studios | |
| | Ancient Kingdoms | · EA | $15.99 | 473 86% | 14k | $227k (exactly $226,898) | Ancient Pixels |
| | Crimson Capes | $14.99 | 165 90% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | Poor Locke | |
| | Varthos - Heir to the Throne | · EA | $19.99 | 82 68% | 2.5k | $49k (exactly $49,175) | Nightshift Game Development |
| | IRONSTRIKE | $19.99 | 41 87% | 1.2k | $25k (exactly $24,588) | E McNeill | |
| | One More Delve | $13.99 | 36 66% | 1.1k | $15k (exactly $15,109) | ATVR | |
| | Crossings | $9.99 | 29 75% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Neat Corporation |
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.