Do I ship it?

GamesSplit ScreenSplit Screen + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Split Screen Puzzle game?

Split Screen + Puzzle

Of 51 developers who shipped a Split Screen Puzzle 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.. 63 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2797 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 63 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 63 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Split Screen + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $719 → $6.2k → $6.3k → $3.9k → $359 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Split Screen + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $718 (exactly $718)
Top 25% $8.5k (exactly $8,533)
Top 5% $1.8M (exactly $1,756,361)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 161
Announced 63
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Split Screen
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Split Screen, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Co-op, Local Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 17,231 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $720, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $1.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Split Screen with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Automobile SimStrong odds25 devs · median $5.5k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair54 devs · median $6.0k · 56 announced
  3. + Immersive SimFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced
  4. + HorrorFair16 devs · median $4.3k · 18 announced
  5. + SportsFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + RPGFair28 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  7. + Score AttackLong shot23 devs · median $300 · 24 announced
  8. + CollectathonPoor odds10 devs · median $38k · 16 announced
  9. + Online Co-OpPoor odds30 devs · median $25k · 63 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $18k · 20 announced
  11. + Open WorldPoor odds20 devs · median $10k · 27 announced
  12. + Tower DefensePoor odds8 devs · median $7.9k · 10 announced

All 84 pairs on the Split Screen page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Human Fall Flat older $19.99 174,835 94% 5.2M $105M (exactly $104,848,549) No Brakes Games
The Escapists 2 older $19.99 26,452 90% 794k $16M (exactly $15,863,264) Team17, Mouldy Toof Studios
LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes older $19.99 22,663 95% 680k $14M (exactly $13,591,001) Traveller's Tales
Little Nightmares III $39.99 10,165 46% 305k $12M (exactly $12,194,950) Supermassive Games
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame older $19.99 12,850 89% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) Traveller's Tales
LEGO® The Lord of the Rings™ older $19.99 9,575 90% 287k $5.7M (exactly $5,742,128) Traveller's Tales
LEGO® Jurassic World older $19.99 7,797 92% 234k $4.7M (exactly $4,675,861) TT Games Ltd
LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham older $19.99 7,521 88% 226k $4.5M (exactly $4,510,344) TT Games Ltd
Revenge of the Savage Planet $29.99 2,845 86% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.
LEGO® Harry Potter™ Collection $39.99 1,464 82% 44k $1.8M (exactly $1,756,361) TT Games, Double Eleven
Biped 2 $14.99 813 71% 24k $366k (exactly $365,606) META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios)
Tetris® Forever $34.99 304 74% 9.1k $319k (exactly $319,109) Digital Eclipse
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Together: Moon Escape $9.99 868 90% 26k $260k (exactly $260,140) CarlosGameDev
Tiny Lands 2 $9.99 126 94% 3.8k $38k (exactly $37,762) Hyper Three Studio
Together in Forgotten Lands $7.99 104 90% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,929) Vellichor Games
Lost Twins 2 $14.99 46 86% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) Playdew

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