What Game Descriptions Tell Us About the Rise of Co-op

An analysis of Steam capsule descriptions from 2020 to 2025 reveals shifting trends in game development and market positioning. By examining the frequency of specific keywords in the short descriptions of thousands of titles, the research highlights how developers are increasingly emphasizing social and thematic elements to capture player interest. The study compares the entire catalog of Steam releases against a subset of games that achieved over $100,000 in lifetime revenue, providing insight into which descriptors correlate with commercial success.

Key findings indicate a significant rise in the use of the term co-op, which grew from 3.2% of successful games in 2022 to 5.8% in 2023, suggesting that developers are increasingly leveraging the viral potential and stability of cooperative play. Similarly, the term cozy has seen a dramatic, linear increase, rising by approximately 700% in new game descriptions between 2020 and 2025. While survival remains a dominant theme, its prevalence among high-earning titles peaked in 2023 at 5.9% before slightly receding to 4.9% in 2025.

The methodology involved tracking the percentage of new game descriptions containing specific keywords annually. The sample size expanded from 9,000 total titles in 2020 to 21,000 in 2025, with the subset of games earning over $100,000 growing from 950 to 1,350 over the same period. This data underscores a competitive landscape where only 6.5% of games released in 2025 reached the $100,000 revenue threshold. Other notable growth areas in descriptive terminology include roguelike, horror, idle, and clicker mechanics, reflecting broader shifts in player preferences and industry-wide development focuses.