Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › 4 Player Local

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 4 Player Local game?

4 Player Local

Of 513 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local 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.. 909 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×282 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 909 games are announced against 298 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 909 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4 Player Local
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 513
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.2k → $1.5k → $1.9k → $1.2k → $1.8k → $839 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 4 Player Local: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 513
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,047)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,886)
Top 5% $134k (exactly $133,966)
Developers, 2 yr 513
Released games 2,203
Announced 909
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
4 Player Local
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 79,863 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $6.8k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 294 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 909 games are announced against 298 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with 4 Player Local

91 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Open World + 4 Player Local Fair $82k 14 devs
  2. 4 Player Local + Multiple Endings Fair $3.6k 10 devs
  3. Simulation + 4 Player Local Fair $2.1k 69 devs
  4. Immersive Sim + 4 Player Local Fair $2.1k 11 devs
  5. 4 Player Local + Rhythm Fair $539 10 devs
  6. Management + 4 Player Local Poor odds $22k 11 devs
  7. Football (Soccer) + 4 Player Local Poor odds $15k 14 devs
  8. 4 Player Local + Beat 'em up Poor odds $8.7k 30 devs
  9. 4 Player Local + Minigames Poor odds $7.2k 12 devs
  10. 4 Player Local + Trivia Poor odds $7.2k 9 devs
  11. Online Co-Op + 4 Player Local Poor odds $4.5k 92 devs
  12. Action RPG + 4 Player Local Poor odds $4.5k 18 devs
  13. RPG + 4 Player Local Poor odds $4.2k 31 devs
  14. 4 Player Local + Adventure Poor odds $3.6k 73 devs
  15. Hack and Slash + 4 Player Local Poor odds $3.6k 23 devs
  16. 4 Player Local + Cooking Poor odds $3.1k 14 devs
  17. Crafting + 4 Player Local Poor odds $3.1k 11 devs
  18. 4 Player Local + Card Game Poor odds $2.9k 19 devs
  19. Co-op + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.7k 196 devs
  20. Action-Adventure + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.7k 52 devs
  21. 4 Player Local + Precision Platformer Poor odds $2.7k 16 devs
  22. Level Editor + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.4k 17 devs
  23. 4 Player Local + Runner Poor odds $2.4k 12 devs
  24. Sports + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.1k 79 devs
  25. Driving + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.1k 30 devs
  26. 4 Player Local + Time Management Poor odds $2.1k 14 devs
  27. Sandbox + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.1k 12 devs
  28. Tactical + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.8k 17 devs
  29. Racing + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.8k 53 devs
  30. Combat Racing + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.8k 31 devs
  31. 4 Player Local + Local Co-Op Poor odds $1.8k 236 devs
  32. Physics + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.7k 109 devs
  33. 4 Player Local + Board Game Poor odds $1.7k 41 devs
  34. Split Screen + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.6k 78 devs
  35. 4 Player Local + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $1.6k 24 devs
  36. Vehicular Combat + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.6k 18 devs
  37. 4 Player Local + Dungeon Crawler Poor odds $1.4k 17 devs
  38. Fighting + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.3k 46 devs
  39. 4 Player Local + Platformer Poor odds $1.3k 65 devs
  40. Character Customization + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.2k 70 devs
  41. 4 Player Local + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $1.2k 364 devs
  42. 4 Player Local + Exploration Poor odds $1.2k 25 devs
  43. FPS + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.2k 12 devs
  44. PvP + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.2k 312 devs
  45. 2D Fighter + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.0k 58 devs
  46. Parkour + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.0k 19 devs
  47. Action + 4 Player Local Poor odds $1.0k 346 devs
  48. 4 Player Local + Arcade Poor odds $1.0k 245 devs
  49. 4 Player Local + 2D Platformer Poor odds $899 72 devs
  50. 4 Player Local + Tabletop Poor odds $899 30 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M Castle Crashers® 2012 · $49M Overcooked! 2 2018 · $46M Party Animals 2023 · $34M Gang Beasts 2017 · $33M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NBA 2K25 older $69.99 30,969 60% 929k $65M (exactly $65,025,609) Visual Concepts
Castle Crashers® older $14.99 109,654 96% 3.3M $49M (exactly $49,311,404) The Behemoth
Overcooked! 2 older $24.99 61,956 90% 1.9M $46M (exactly $46,448,413) Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17
Party Animals older $19.99 56,043 81% 1.7M $34M (exactly $33,608,987) Recreate Games
Gang Beasts older $19.99 54,880 85% 1.6M $33M (exactly $32,911,536) Boneloaf, Rocket Science
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Wobbly Life $24.99 33,034 97% 991k $25M (exactly $24,765,590) RubberBandGames
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds $69.99 11,479 93% 344k $24M (exactly $24,102,456) Sonic Team
Broforce older $14.99 49,512 96% 1.5M $22M (exactly $22,265,546) Free Lives
Pummel Party older $14.99 46,134 88% 1.4M $21M (exactly $20,746,460) Rebuilt Games
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Lost Castle 2 $17.99 10,851 78% 326k $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) Hunter Studio
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
LEGO® Party! $39.99 1,112 87% 33k $1.3M (exactly $1,334,066) SMG Studio
Tennis Elbow 4 $29.99 1,077 96% 32k $969k (exactly $968,977) Mana Games
Tales of Graces f Remastered $39.99 773 87% 23k $927k (exactly $927,368) TOSE CO., LTD.
Little Fighter 2 Remastered $15.88 1,770 76% 53k $843k (exactly $843,228) Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong
HexBreaker Ⅱ $19.99 1,049 64% 31k $629k (exactly $629,085) 灵煦工作室

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