Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Female Protagonist

Of 21 developers who shipped a Female-Led Level Editor 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.. 29 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.6k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×551 the market median. Revenue is up 165% on the market; 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 165% on the market, 29 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $46k → $26k → $327 → $1.8k → $45k → $8.1k → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Median $8.6k (exactly $8,633)
Top 25% $57k (exactly $56,662)
Top 5% $346k (exactly $345,755)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 74
Announced 29
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 165% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Rhythm
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 8,516 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $8.6k, 1 in 4 over $56k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Level Editor with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Portal 2 2011 · $117M Severed Steel 2021 · $6.7M Ion Fury 2019 · $4.2M Rift of the NecroDancer 2025 · $3.5M 30XX 2023 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
Severed Steel older $24.99 8,880 95% 266k $6.7M (exactly $6,657,336) Greylock Studio
Ion Fury older $24.99 5,649 93% 169k $4.2M (exactly $4,235,055) Voidpoint, LLC
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.)
30XX older $19.99 2,514 90% 75k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,646) Batterystaple Games
Haydee 2 older $24.99 1,649 87% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,236,255) Haydee Interactive
Shadwen older $16.99 1,049 77% 31k $535k (exactly $534,675) Frozenbyte
Cloudbuilt older $19.99 798 86% 24k $479k (exactly $478,561) Coilworks
GIGA WRECKER older $19.99 728 76% 22k $437k (exactly $436,582) GAME FREAK inc.
Witch's Apocalyptic Journey $8.99 1,282 84% 38k $346k (exactly $345,755) MeowAlive
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
HYPERBEAT $14.99 381 99% 11k $171k (exactly $171,336) Dreamware Media
Valkyrie Saga $7.99 288 92% 8.6k $69k (exactly $69,034) Public Void
Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain $14.99 126 95% 3.8k $57k (exactly $56,662) makaroll
Blobun $9.99 151 99% 4.5k $45k (exactly $45,255) CyanSorcery
The Angel's Devil Tail - One More Question 2 $9.99 70 91% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) 橘音
Live Rise!!: 4K Fever · EA $17.99 22 90% 660 $12k (exactly $11,873) SAKUSORA
10 seconds dash! $9.99 31 96% 930 $9.3k (exactly $9,291) メシードソフトウェア

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.