A recent study by VG Insights delved into the Steam database, revealing a surge in cooperative games. In 2023, a staggering 799 cooperative projects made their debut on the Valve platform.
The rise of cooperative gameplay titles can be attributed to the pandemic-induced restrictions. Despite being a minority among releases, cooperative games have proven to be lucrative, accounting for over 35% of Steam sales in the last three years.
The success of cooperative games is evident in their sales figures. In the first half of 2024, these games contributed to 46% of total sales, with hits like Palworld and Helldivers 2 leading the charge.
With cooperative games outselling single-player titles, the future looks bright for this genre. According to VG Insights analysts:
- Cooperative games on Steam have an average circulation of 40,000 copies, compared to 5,000 copies for single-player games.
- Even the least popular cooperative games outsell their single-player counterparts by two-fold.
- The top 25% most popular cooperative games have sales exceeding 300,000 copies.
The appeal of cooperative games lies in their replay value, social media buzz, word-of-mouth recommendations, and appeal to streamers.
Article from stopgame.ru