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Should I ship a Female-Led Arcade game?
Arcade + Female Protagonist
Of 372 developers who shipped a Female-Led Arcade 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.. 340 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 340 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,912) |
| Top 5% | $167k (exactly $167,316) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 372 |
| Released games | 1,214 |
| Announced | 340 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 up 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 41,919 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 199 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 340 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M 
Mortal Kombat X 2015 · $24M 
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M 
SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M 
Skullgirls 2nd Encore 2013 · $17M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Street Fighter™ 6 | older | $39.99 | 49,952 81% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,927,414) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Mortal Kombat X | older | $19.99 | 39,392 88% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,623,382) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
| | Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ | older | $39.39 | 19,507 94% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,051,422) | SEGA |
| | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
| | Skullgirls 2nd Encore | older | $24.99 | 23,071 88% | 692k | $17M (exactly $17,296,329) | Hidden Variable Studios |
 | Street Fighter V | older | $19.99 | 27,820 72% | 835k | $17M (exactly $16,683,654) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Returnal™ | older | $59.99 | 6,602 79% | 198k | $12M (exactly $11,881,619) | Housemarque, Climax Studios |
 | Muse Dash | older | $2.99 | 112,437 91% | 3.4M | $10M (exactly $10,085,599) | peropero |
 | Haste | $19.99 | 12,690 92% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) | Landfall | |
 | THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV | $29.99 | 8,399 83% | 252k | $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | UNBEATABLE | $27.99 | 6,552 92% | 197k | $5.5M (exactly $5,501,714) | D-CELL GAMES | |
 | Rift of the NecroDancer | $19.99 | 5,844 93% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) | Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.) | |
 | FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves | $19.99 | 3,135 82% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,880,059) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | Terminator 2D: NO FATE | $29.99 | 1,450 84% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) | Bitmap Bureau | |
 | Yooka-Replaylee | $29.99 | 1,045 92% | 31k | $940k (exactly $940,186) | Playtonic Games | |
 | DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round | $39.99 | 550 31% | 17k | $660k (exactly $659,835) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | TouHou Makuka Sai ~ Fantastic Danmaku Festival Part III | $13.99 | 1,242 90% | 37k | $521k (exactly $521,267) | 东方幕华祭制作组 | |
 | Star Fire: Eternal Cycle | $16.99 | 1,012 91% | 30k | $516k (exactly $515,816) | Ethereal Fish Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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