Do I ship it?

GamesOnline Co-OpOnline Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Online Co-Op Twin Stick Shooter?

Online Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 25 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op Twin Stick Shooter 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.. 56 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×387 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 56 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 56 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Online Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $1.5k → $81k → $7.3k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Online Co-Op + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $38k (exactly $37,724)
Top 5% $580k (exactly $580,314)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 86
Announced 56
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 up 215% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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, Twin Stick Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Co-op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 6,521 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $37k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Nine Parchments older $19.99 4,123 77% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) Frozenbyte
War Mongrels older $44.99 1,826 72% 55k $2.5M (exactly $2,464,552) Destructive Creations
POSTAL Redux older $8.99 6,745 92% 202k $1.8M (exactly $1,819,126) Running With Scissors
ANVIL older $24.99 1,900 61% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,424,430) ACTION SQUARE
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light older $9.99 3,566 92% 107k $1.1M (exactly $1,068,730) Crystal Dynamics
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS™ older $19.99 1,262 68% 38k $757k (exactly $756,821) Crystal Dynamics
Whisper Mountain Outbreak · EA $7.99 2,421 84% 73k $580k (exactly $580,314) Toge Productions
RIFTSTORM · EA $14.99 659 70% 20k $296k (exactly $296,352) Confiction Labs, Agate
Star Vortex · EA $24.99 154 84% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Zorg Games
The Horde Wants You Dead $9.99 270 64% 8.1k $81k (exactly $80,919) Bellyflop Games
MineGeon: Renegades $19.99 93 63% 2.8k $56k (exactly $55,772) Kickstone Studio
Evolve or Die $4.99 252 98% 7.6k $38k (exactly $37,724) Seal
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Hellwatch $9.99 27 44% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) FG
NeverCOM · EA $4.99 49 95% 1.5k $7.3k (exactly $7,335) Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co.… (Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co., Ltd)

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