Do I ship it?

Games › Online Co-Op › Online Co-Op + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Time Management game?

Online Co-Op + Time Management

Of 109 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Time Management 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.. 267 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.3k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 267 games are announced against 71 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 267 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 109
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $10k → $25k → $17k → $4.9k → $5.2k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 109
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $5.3k (exactly $5,349)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,653)
Top 5% $566k (exactly $565,692)
Developers, 2 yr 109
Released games 175
Announced 267
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Online Co-Op, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Simulation, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 374,018 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $5.3k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 6 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 267 games are announced against 71 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M PEAK 2025 · $72M Farming Simulator 25 2024 · $36M Content Warning 2024 · $17M Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Farming Simulator 25 $29.99 39,681 87% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,700,996) GIANTS Software
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
Ships At Sea · EA older $24.99 2,479 69% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,858,506) Misc Games
gogh: Focus with Your Avatar $11.99 4,811 91% 144k $1.7M (exactly $1,730,517) ambr
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
BOMBANANA! $7.99 2,360 96% 71k $566k (exactly $565,692) Lefto Studio
Emergency Call - The Firefighting Simulation 3 · EA $24.99 370 71% 11k $277k (exactly $277,389) Crenetic GmbH Studios
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure $14.99 517 70% 16k $232k (exactly $232,495) kopiforge
Rest Area Simulator $9.99 621 85% 19k $186k (exactly $186,114) Oriseus Studios

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