Rise of the Co-op Games

Jul, 2024 Contact: sales@vginsights.com
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Rise of the Co -op Games
Just hanging out with some friends

This report explores the rise of popularity for social games focusing on the small
group/team dynamics
Co -op Games Overview
“A cooperative video game, often abbreviated as co -op, is a video
game that allows players to work together as teammates, usually
against one or more non -player character opponents (PvE)” 1
1 – Wikipedia definition
383 388
647 650 701
799
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Number of Co -op Games Released on Steam by Year

Co -op games are disproportionally popular on Steam, capturing nearly half of
the units sold
Popularity of Co -op Games on Steam
94%
64%
36%
Games Released Units Sold
13,936 181 m
6% Co -op Games
Non co -op
Only 6% of Steam games released in
2023 were co -op, but they make up
36% of the units sold
Share of Co -op Games for Games Released and Units Sold,
Looking at Games Released in 2023

Covid further boosted co -op games through providing a social output during
lockdown; post -Covid years saw a normalization, but 2024 bucks the trend
Popularity of Co -op Games Over Time
4.8%
6.6%
5.7% 5.7% 5.7%
5.0%
4.0%
4.5%
5.0%
5.5%
6.0%
6.5%
7.0%
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 YTD
33%
43%
37% 38%
36%
46%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 YTD
Co -op Games as a % of All Games Released, by Year Co -op Games as a % of All Units Sold for New Releases, by Year 1
1 – Looks at new releases each year and what % of units sold went to new Co -Op games VS non Co -Op games

2024 has brought back co -op games in force, with unexpected hits such as
Palworld and Helldivers 2 taking the world by storm
Top Co -op Games Released in 2024 on Steam, June 2024
Helldivers 2 Palworld Content Warning Gray Zone Warfare
11M
Games Sold
19M
Games Sold
2.5M
Games Sold
1.4M
Games Sold
459k
Peak Players
2.1M
Peak Players
204k
Peak Players
73k
Peak Players

Top co -op games sell majority of the units – Palworld sold nearly half of the total
40M co -op game units in 2024 so far
Concentration of Co -op Game Sales
19.1M
(47% )
11.4M
(28% )
2.4M
(6% )
1.4M
(3% )
6.5M
(16% )
Co -Op Games Released in 2024
Palworld
Helldivers 2
Content Warning
Gray Zone Warfare
Other Co -op Titles
40.8M
Breakdown of Co -op Game Units Sold for Games Released in 2024

However, games with co -op elements tend to out -perform non co -op games by
a wide margin across the spectrum, including in the small indie title end
Outperformance of Co -op Games VS Other Games
Median Top 25% Bottom 25%
5k 2k
38k
5k
298k
21k +121%
+627%
+1,313%
Co -op
Non co -op
Lifetime Units Sold for Co -op and Non Co -op Games on Steam
• A typical co -op game sells c. 40k units on
Steam VS only 5k for a non co -op game
• Bottom 25% of co -op games still sell twice
as well as the bottom 25% of other games
• Top 25% of co -op games sell over 300k
units in their lifetime
• 106 co -op games have sold over 5 million
units in their lifetime on Steam, making it a
surprisingly attractive opportunity for
larger publishers

Good co -op games encourage word of mouth and organic awareness spread ,
delivering a natural hype cycle for a game
Co -op Game Design Benefits
Sharable
Memable
Streamable
Infinitely replayable
Players want their friends to also play , so they sell the game for you
Momorable stand -out moments will spread on social media
The game is both player and watcher friendly, making for good content
The gameplay loop(s) are designed to be fun for a long time
Note that these are not co -op exclusive features, but are often easier to achieve with co -op games

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Appendix

Definitions and methodology
Glossary
Terms Definitions
AA /AAA games Large budget games developed by massive teams and companies. AAA game budgets are typically over $100M to develop
CAGR Compound annual growth rate
CCU Concurrent users – active players in -game
FtP Free to play games
Full Game Revenue Revenue from the direct sale of a game, excluding any DLC and MTX revenues
IAP In-app purchases
Indie games Games developed by independent studios. This covers a large range of studios from 1 person hobby projects to larger studios o f a
few hundred employees, but budgets still fall far short of the AAA game levels
MTX Microtransactions
Unit Sales Estimate Using different estimation methods, including an algorithm based on our internal database of actual sales as well as a large sam ple
size of user profiles. Detailed overview of the method is highlighted in the section below
Revenue Estimate Estimated units sold multiplied by the price at the time. This is gross revenue, including the Steam cut, but adjusted for lo cal
currencies, returned products and discounts
More information:
Definitions: https://vginsights.com/about
Methodology: https://vginsights.com/insights/article/steam -sales -estimation -methodology -and -accuracy
Email: Support@vginsights.com

Legal Disclaimer
Legal Stuff. We’ll Keep It Brief
Video Game Insights (VGI) is in no way affiliated with Steam or Valve.
All data provided in this report is freely available and can be shared without any restrictions.
All data provided in this report is based on estimates and should be considered as such.
VGI uses third -party suppliers and applications, often internet enabled. VG Insights can therefore not guarantee the accuracy of all data coming from third parties. This might be due to
mis -tagging or mis -reporting of data and VG Insights will adjust and fix the issues when highlighted to us.
Limitation of liability
VGI hereby declines any and all liability for damage, consequential loss and/or indirect loss owing to the use of VG Insights ’ d ata and services.