A fifth of gamers love couch co-op, so where are all the games?

Couch co-op gaming, when two or more players in the same room play together co-operatively, already has some proven success stories:

• It Takes Two, a co-op-only platformer from EA studio Hazelight, has sold over 20 million copies. The game’s success led to it winning Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards, with a film adaptation in the works
• Nintendo first-party games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Pikmin 4, and more offer co-op modes that let less experienced or younger players join in
• Diablo IV and Baldur’s Gate 3 on consoles boast couch co-op features, which  fans across Reddit have appreciated

But beyond these, couch co-op games are few and far between. There is a clear opportunity in co-op gaming for game makers, as 20% of gamers count couch co-op among their favourite ways to play.

Many couch-co-op ready publishers chased trends, not market needs, to no avail

It’s been over three-and-a-half years since It Takes Two launched to massive critical and cultural acclaim. The game’s success was not a complete surprise.

Hazelight’s infamous CEO Josef Fares has been directing well-received couch co-op games for a while, including Brothers: A Tale ofTwo Sons (2014) and A Way Out. The co-op games from him and his teams have grown their niche and fostered a sizeable audience across the last decade.

During this time, console and PC publishers have chased esports, live services, the metaverse, and blockchain gaming. Many have failed in these areas, lacking the expertise to capitalise on the trend.

Meanwhile, couch co-op games offer a high-opportunity,low-competition space in a genre that:

1. Fits the skills of many publisher’s development teams
2. Has been mostly unclaimed, EA’s Hazelight aside

It’s time for game makers to stake their claim.

There are huge opportunities for brands, too—an It TakesTwo-like platformer based on a Disney IP (Frozen or Toy Story, for example) has all the makings of a hit if executed correctly. It’s worked for Nintendo, after all.

Couch co-op is not just for old-school gamers

Playing co-operatively next to another person was a mainstay of arcades and early console alike, but the mode fell out of prominence during the online gaming boom.

While it would make sense for couch co-op games to only be popular among older players, that is far from the truth:

Generally speaking, the younger the age group, the more likely they are to count couch co-op as a favourite game mode.  As you can learn about in MIDiA's' The single-player opportunity' report, the 16-19 group equally prefers couch co-op and single-player. 

The Q3 2024 findings from our consumer research, which we conduct every quarter among 9,000 consumers, show that 11% of 16-19 gamers play to socialise. Meanwhile, just 5% play to relax alone / escape (the lowest of all age groups covered). Younger players’ enjoyment of gaming with others clearly extends to couch co-op.

How couch co-op complements other gaming strategies

Beyond filling a consumer demand, couch co-op games have the following advantages:

• Getting younger and less experienced players up to speed: As shown by Nintendo, catering to core and casual gamers helps couch co-op appeal to households and friend groups. Families, younger players, and those with limited gaming experience are more likely to engage, boosting engagement and fan acquisition
•  Value adds for multi-game subscriptions: Some consumers are less likely to buy couch co-op games as they only physically meet for social gaming intermittently. Including couch co-op in a subscription-like Xbox Game Pass could add value to players’ subscriptions while also boosting word of mouth
• Couch co-op makes for great viewing entertainment: Couch co-op lends itself to streaming and content creation on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Having multiple players in the same room adds an entertaining, personable element that can attract more viewers and help the game reach a larger audience. There are also opportunities for creator collaborations

• Combining couch and online co-op: Online co-op platformer Chained Together has been a viral hit on Steam and Twitch in 2024, and co-op shooter Helldivers 2 has been one of the year’s biggest hits. Offering local and online co-op modes gives consumers more choices to play their way
•  Potentially steadier stream of sales: Single-player revenues almost always peak during launch, then see steep revenue lines. Couch co-op games – like It Takes Two – can enjoy a longer tail. Players return to these titles over the years (as there is little else available in the genre), keeping revenues steady even years after the initial release

So the consumer demand is there, there is a gap in the market, and the strategy complements what many game publishers are already doing. Even a thin layer of co-op on a single-player-like experience can build engagement, so at least experimenting with the mode could be low-hanging fruit for many game makers.