Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led Class-Based game?
Class-Based + Female Protagonist
Of 28 developers who shipped a Female-Led Class-Based 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×196 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) |
| Top 5% | $294k (exactly $294,235) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 76 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 down 40% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Class-Based
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Class-Based; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Turn-Based Strategy, RPG, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,355 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Class-Based with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Bullet HeavenFair
- + SupernaturalLong shot
- + 2D PlatformerLong shot
- + FPSPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + WarPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds
- + WargamePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark | older | $29.99 | 4,989 88% | 150k | $4.5M (exactly $4,488,603) | 6 Eyes Studio |
| | BRAVELY DEFAULT II | older | $59.99 | 1,732 80% | 52k | $3.1M (exactly $3,117,080) | Square Enix, Claytechworks |
| | FINAL FANTASY VI | older | $17.99 | 4,600 92% | 138k | $2.5M (exactly $2,482,620) | Square Enix |
| | Fantasy Maiden Wars - DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER - | $34.99 | 582 98% | 17k | $611k (exactly $610,925) | さんぼん堂 | |
| | Corruption of Champions II | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,729 91% | 52k | $518k (exactly $518,181) | Salamander Studios |
| | Disciples: Domination | $44.99 | 218 65% | 6.5k | $294k (exactly $294,235) | Artefacts Studio | |
| | Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands | older | $19.99 | 439 98% | 13k | $263k (exactly $263,268) | Deathbulge, Five Houses LLC |
| | Arcadian Atlas | older | $19.99 | 146 56% | 4.4k | $88k (exactly $87,556) | Twin Otter Studios |
| | Witch and Council : The Card | $14.99 | 182 48% | 5.5k | $82k (exactly $81,845) | G1 Playground | |
| | Telepath Tactics Liberated | older | $19.99 | 120 85% | 3.6k | $72k (exactly $71,964) | Sinister Design |
| | Gales of Nayeli | $24.99 | 87 88% | 2.6k | $65k (exactly $65,224) | Blindcoco Studios | |
| | Trials of Valor | $18.99 | 100 95% | 3.0k | $57k (exactly $56,970) | Armored Goblin | |
| | Thyria | $15.99 | 113 78% | 3.4k | $54k (exactly $54,206) | Twokats, TwoKats SNC | |
| | Soulkin | $9.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) | Tambu Digital | |
| | Funeral Flowers Lament: Helena | $16.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) | Kiseki Kobo Games | |
| | Minerva Labyrinth | $14.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | Midnight Spire Games | |
| | No More Demon | · EA | $12.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $6.2k (exactly $6,235) | Mundus Games |
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.