Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Co-op

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Co-op game?

Co-op

Of 2,312 developers who shipped a Co-op 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.. 4,953 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $3.0M, ×2030 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 4,953 games are announced against 1,436 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 4,953 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Co-op
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,312
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.2k → $11k → $5.1k → $5.6k → $4.8k → $5.8k → $2.5k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Co-op: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,312
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $46k (exactly $45,854)
Top 5% $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056)
Developers, 2 yr 2,312
Released games 7,808
Announced 4,953
Effort 7 / 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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

Co-op
effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Co-op
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,372,732 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $45k, 1 in 20 over $3.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 1,203 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 4,953 games are announced against 1,436 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Co-op

169 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Co-op + Destruction Poor odds $11k 50 devs
  2. 4X + Co-op Poor odds $10k 15 devs
  3. Co-op + Simulation Poor odds $10k 547 devs
  4. Co-op + Exploration Poor odds $10k 588 devs
  5. Co-op + Loot Poor odds $9.3k 116 devs
  6. Co-op + CRPG Poor odds $9.0k 11 devs
  7. Co-op + Fighting Poor odds $9.0k 45 devs
  8. Co-op + Trivia Poor odds $9.0k 14 devs
  9. Co-op + Hack and Slash Poor odds $8.4k 145 devs
  10. Co-op + Character Customization Poor odds $7.9k 369 devs
  11. Co-op + RTS Poor odds $7.1k 65 devs
  12. Co-op + Adventure Poor odds $6.6k 881 devs
  13. Co-op + Survival Poor odds $6.5k 389 devs
  14. Co-op + Grand Strategy Poor odds $6.5k 24 devs
  15. Co-op + Roguelite Poor odds $6.3k 260 devs
  16. Co-op + Roguelike Poor odds $5.8k 224 devs
  17. Co-op + Time Management Poor odds $5.5k 107 devs
  18. Co-op + Stealth Poor odds $5.5k 153 devs
  19. Co-op + Bullet Time Poor odds $5.4k 13 devs
  20. Co-op + Survival Horror Poor odds $5.3k 259 devs
  21. Co-op + Action-Adventure Poor odds $5.2k 503 devs
  22. Co-op + Trading Card Game Poor odds $4.9k 11 devs
  23. Online Co-Op + Co-op Poor odds $4.8k 1,473 devs
  24. Co-op + Action Roguelike Poor odds $4.8k 283 devs
  25. Action RTS + Co-op Poor odds $4.5k 39 devs
  26. Co-op + Procedural Generation Poor odds $4.3k 232 devs
  27. Co-op + Dungeon Crawler Poor odds $4.3k 157 devs
  28. Co-op + FPS Poor odds $4.3k 240 devs
  29. Co-op + Tactical Poor odds $4.3k 151 devs
  30. Co-op + Physics Poor odds $4.3k 406 devs
  31. Co-op + Bullet Heaven Poor odds $4.2k 39 devs
  32. Co-op + Space Sim Poor odds $4.2k 30 devs
  33. Co-op + Hex Grid Poor odds $4.0k 12 devs
  34. Co-op + Perma Death Poor odds $3.9k 64 devs
  35. Co-op + Third-Person Shooter Poor odds $3.9k 103 devs
  36. Co-op + Action Poor odds $3.9k 1,445 devs
  37. Co-op + Strategy RPG Poor odds $3.6k 29 devs
  38. Co-op Campaign + Co-op Poor odds $3.6k 198 devs
  39. Co-op + Shooter Poor odds $3.6k 385 devs
  40. Hero Shooter + Co-op Poor odds $3.6k 22 devs
  41. Co-op + Level Editor Poor odds $3.4k 46 devs
  42. Co-op + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.4k 62 devs
  43. Co-op + Rhythm Poor odds $3.1k 29 devs
  44. Co-op + Sports Poor odds $3.0k 124 devs
  45. Co-op + Party-Based RPG Poor odds $3.0k 48 devs
  46. Co-op + Tactical RPG Poor odds $3.0k 22 devs
  47. Co-op + Submarine Poor odds $3.0k 10 devs
  48. Co-op + PvE Poor odds $2.9k 643 devs
  49. Co-op + Combat Poor odds $2.8k 455 devs
  50. Co-op + Flight Poor odds $2.8k 45 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ELDEN RING 2022 · $1.5B Rust 2018 · $1.4B HELLDIVERS™ 2 2024 · $1.0B Battlefield™ 6 2025 · $620M DayZ 2018 · $582M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ELDEN RING older $59.99 831,470 93% 25M $1.5B (exactly $1,496,396,559) FromSoftware, Inc.
Rust older $39.99 1,167,920 87% 35M $1.4B (exactly $1,401,153,624) Facepunch Studios
HELLDIVERS™ 2 older $39.99 838,901 76% 25M $1.0B (exactly $1,006,429,530) Arrowhead Game Studios
Battlefield™ 6 $69.99 295,442 63% 8.9M $620M (exactly $620,339,567) Battlefield Studios
DayZ older $49.99 387,850 78% 12M $582M (exactly $581,658,645) Bohemia Interactive
DARK SOULS™ III older $59.99 278,034 94% 8.3M $500M (exactly $500,377,790) FromSoftware, Inc.
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI older $59.99 276,113 86% 8.3M $497M (exactly $496,920,566) Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux))
Forza Horizon 5 older $59.99 260,218 89% 7.8M $468M (exactly $468,314,335) Playground Games
Valheim $29.99 464,893 94% 14M $418M (exactly $418,264,232) Iron Gate AB
Hearts of Iron IV older $49.99 274,901 90% 8.2M $412M (exactly $412,269,030) Paradox Development Studio
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
Monster Hunter Wilds $39.99 200,984 52% 6.0M $241M (exactly $241,120,505) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 $69.99 99,773 50% 3.0M $209M (exactly $209,493,368) EA Canada, EA Romania
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced $29.99 210,784 83% 6.3M $190M (exactly $189,642,365) Rockstar North
Forza Horizon 6 $69.99 86,730 82% 2.6M $182M (exactly $182,106,981) Playground Games
Schedule I · EA $19.99 288,939 97% 8.7M $173M (exactly $173,276,718) TVGS
ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN $39.99 129,476 83% 3.9M $155M (exactly $155,332,357) FromSoftware, Inc.
Slay the Spire 2 · EA $24.99 183,764 61% 5.5M $138M (exactly $137,767,871) Mega Crit

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