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Should I ship a Thriller Online Co-Op game?
Online Co-Op + Thriller
Of 81 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 158 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $680; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×119 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 158 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $674 (exactly $674) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,594) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $21,180) |
| Top 5% | $178k (exactly $177,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 81 |
| Released games | 172 |
| Announced | 158 |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 11,869 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $680. 8 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 158 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different setting or mood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Phasmophobia | · EA older | $19.99 | 684,009 94% | 21M | $410M (exactly $410,200,197) | Kinetic Games |
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
| | Secret Neighbor: Hello Neighbor Multiplayer | older | $19.99 | 14,865 86% | 446k | $8.9M (exactly $8,914,540) | Hologryph, Eerie Guest Studios |
| | Dead Space™ 3 | older | $19.99 | 12,238 72% | 367k | $7.3M (exactly $7,339,129) | Visceral Games |
| | Pacify | older | $4.99 | 32,921 86% | 988k | $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) | Shawn Hitchcock |
| | The Past Within | older | $5.99 | 14,673 94% | 440k | $2.6M (exactly $2,636,738) | Rusty Lake |
| | Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek | $7.99 | 7,141 75% | 214k | $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) | Rayll | |
| | Ghost Exorcism INC. | · EA older | $11.99 | 4,256 76% | 128k | $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) | StudioGoupil |
| | Clawed | $19.99 | 729 52% | 22k | $437k (exactly $437,181) | Flatrock Games | |
| | Hospital 666 | older | $7.99 | 1,203 71% | 36k | $288k (exactly $288,359) | Lokin |
| | Project Unknown | $9.99 | 776 81% | 23k | $233k (exactly $232,567) | PsychoRavens | |
| | Nested Lands | · EA | $14.99 | 482 73% | 14k | $217k (exactly $216,755) | 1M Bits Horde |
| | UNDERWARD | $9.99 | 593 73% | 18k | $178k (exactly $177,722) | INTENSE | |
| | Unpossess: Exorcism Simulator | $14.99 | 373 70% | 11k | $168k (exactly $167,738) | Chreseeba Games | |
| | School 666 | $9.99 | 555 82% | 17k | $166k (exactly $166,334) | Lokin | |
| | Backroom Company | $8.99 | 608 81% | 18k | $164k (exactly $163,978) | Hypercent Inc. | |
| | La Quimera | · EA | $29.99 | 167 51% | 5.0k | $150k (exactly $150,250) | Reburn |
| | Lost Lullabies: The Orphanage Chronicles | $10.99 | 445 70% | 13k | $147k (exactly $146,716) | Pugsy Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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