Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Female Protagonist
Of 206 developers who shipped a Female-Led Bullet Hell 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.. 262 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×249 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 262 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $420 (exactly $420) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,285) |
| Top 5% | $118k (exactly $118,129) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 206 |
| Released games | 629 |
| Announced | 262 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $7.00 |
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 25% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Bullet Hell
- 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
- Bullet Hell; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.00 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.00.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 12,539 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 110 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 262 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Bullet Hell with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroStrong odds
- + FaithFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + PiratesFair
- + CatsFair
- + HackingFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Naval CombatFair
Comparable games
NieR:Automata™ 2017 · $138M 
NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... 2021 · $39M 
Returnal™ 2023 · $12M 
Azur Lane Crosswave 2020 · $7.8M 
Touhou Luna Nights 2019 · $7.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NieR:Automata™ | older | $39.99 | 115,103 88% | 3.5M | $138M (exactly $138,089,069) | Square Enix, PlatinumGames Inc. |
| | NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... | older | $59.99 | 21,493 88% | 645k | $39M (exactly $38,680,952) | Square Enix, Toylogic Inc. |
| | Returnal™ | older | $59.99 | 6,602 79% | 198k | $12M (exactly $11,881,619) | Housemarque, Climax Studios |
| | Azur Lane Crosswave | older | $39.99 | 6,537 68% | 196k | $7.8M (exactly $7,842,439) | IDEA FACTORY, COMPILE HEART, FELISTELLA |
| | Touhou Luna Nights | older | $17.99 | 13,776 97% | 413k | $7.4M (exactly $7,434,907) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground |
 | Rabi-Ribi | older | $17.99 | 10,768 95% | 323k | $5.8M (exactly $5,811,490) | CreSpirit, GemaYue |
 | BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE | older | $19.99 | 9,598 91% | 288k | $5.8M (exactly $5,755,921) | Awe Interactive |
 | One Step From Eden | older | $19.99 | 6,039 94% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) | Thomas Moon Kang |
 | TEVI | older | $29.99 | 3,580 88% | 107k | $3.2M (exactly $3,220,926) | CreSpirit, GemaYue, Ein Lee |
 | Noctuary | older | $29.99 | 2,371 94% | 71k | $2.1M (exactly $2,133,189) | Gratesca |
 | Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic - the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil | $17.99 | 3,740 98% | 112k | $2.0M (exactly $2,018,478) | 上海アリス幻樂団, 上海アリスReprise | |
 | Homura Hime | $24.99 | 2,316 90% | 69k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,305) | Crimson Dusk | |
 | Fantasy Maiden Wars - DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER - | $34.99 | 582 98% | 17k | $611k (exactly $610,925) | さんぼん堂 | |
 | Hell Maiden | · EA | $9.99 | 1,834 90% | 55k | $550k (exactly $549,650) | AstralShift |
 | 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 | |
 | Touhou Kinjoukyou ～ Fossilized Wonders. | $14.99 | 832 91% | 25k | $374k (exactly $374,150) | 上海アリス幻樂団 | |
 | Ascend to ZERO | $11.99 | 867 82% | 26k | $312k (exactly $311,860) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
 | Whisker Squadron: Survivor | $19.99 | 485 77% | 15k | $291k (exactly $290,854) | Flippfly LLC | |
 | Earthion | $19.99 | 483 95% | 14k | $290k (exactly $289,655) | Ancient Corporation, Bitwave Games | |
 | DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite | $24.99 | 158 42% | 4.7k | $118k (exactly $118,453) | CAVE Interactive CO., LTD. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.