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Should I ship a Western Online Co-Op game?
Online Co-Op + Western
Only 19 developers shipped a Western Online Co-Op game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Far Far West, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×12594 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 29 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 25% | $43k (exactly $43,171) |
| Top 5% | $19M (exactly $18,865,363) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 29 |
| 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 95% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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
- Western
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvE
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Comedy, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 33,743 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
Hunt: Showdown 1896 2019 · $192M 
Red Dead Online 2020 · $36M 
Far Far West 2026 · EA · $19M 
Evil West 2022 · $15M 
Last Train Outta' Wormtown 2025 · $523k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hunt: Showdown 1896 | older | $29.99 | 213,023 74% | 6.4M | $192M (exactly $191,656,793) | Crytek |
| | Red Dead Online | older | $19.99 | 59,572 82% | 1.8M | $36M (exactly $35,725,328) | Rockstar Games |
| | Far Far West | · EA | $19.99 | 31,458 95% | 944k | $19M (exactly $18,865,363) | Evil Raptor |
| | Evil West | older | $49.99 | 10,215 74% | 306k | $15M (exactly $15,319,436) | Flying Wild Hog |
| | Last Train Outta' Wormtown | $11.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $523k (exactly $522,644) | Get(Color) Games | |
 | West Hunt | older | $9.99 | 1,522 84% | 46k | $456k (exactly $456,143) | NewGen |
 | Wild Indigo Ranch | $19.99 | 424 68% | 13k | $254k (exactly $254,273) | Funday Games | |
 | Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge | older | $9.99 | 261 50% | 7.8k | $78k (exactly $78,222) | Spellbound |
 | Western Rye | · EA | $21.99 | 104 53% | 3.1k | $69k (exactly $68,609) | Nixalon Studios |
 | Cowbots and Aliens | older | $19.99 | 90 82% | 2.7k | $54k (exactly $53,973) | Wizard Games Inc, Chicken Waffle |
 | Cowboy 3030 | $14.99 | 96 87% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $43,171) | Soy Boy Games | |
 | Trail & Error | · EA | $7.99 | 107 70% | 3.2k | $26k (exactly $25,648) | Oberha5li Studios |
 | Altarium | $9.99 | 58 53% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | Metavision Studio | |
 | Arcane Wilds | · EA | $17.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $7.0k (exactly $7,016) | Avancadia |
 | Rhyolite | $9.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | Long Lost | |
 | DEMONOLITION | $9.99 | 9 77% | 270 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | HEX512 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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