Do I ship it?

GamesMatch 3Match 3 + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Match 3?

Match 3 + Female Protagonist

Of 27 developers who shipped a Female-Led Match 3 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $68k, ×144 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Match 3 + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $898 → $540 → $210 → $1.3k → $1.5k → $1.1k (still earning) → $59 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Match 3 + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,075)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,947)
Top 5% $68k (exactly $68,332)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 173
Announced 35
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 45% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Match 3
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades
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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Match 3; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 754 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $68k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Match 3 with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $4.8k · 7 announced
  2. + RomanceFair25 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  3. + LGBTQ+Fair13 devs · median $1.2k · 3 announced
  4. + DemonsFair9 devs · median $779 · 4 announced
  5. + Time ManagementFair12 devs · median $748 · 7 announced
  6. + ShooterFair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + MagicFair35 devs · median $718 · 36 announced
  8. + Tower DefenseFair9 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  9. + Dark FantasyFair14 devs · median $539 · 16 announced
  10. + PvPLong shot21 devs · median $505 · 29 announced
  11. + CombatLong shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  12. + DogsLong shot12 devs · median $90 · 4 announced

All 75 pairs on the Match 3 page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mirror 2: Project X · EA older $1.99 111,251 24% 3.3M $6.6M (exactly $6,641,685) KAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs
Mirror older $1.99 72,623 96% 2.2M $4.3M (exactly $4,335,593) KAGAMI WORKS
Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe older $19.99 1,624 95% 49k $974k (exactly $973,913) Trinket Studios
Wish older $2.99 3,115 89% 93k $279k (exactly $279,416) Momentum Games
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition older $17.99 434 80% 13k $234k (exactly $234,230) Dotemu, Capybara Games
Sex and the Furry Titty 2: Sins of the City older $9.99 708 91% 21k $212k (exactly $212,188) Furlough Games
Sex and the Furry Titty older $6.99 996 90% 30k $209k (exactly $208,861) Furlough Games
H-Isekai Loves older $2.99 1,292 84% 39k $116k (exactly $115,892) G-Blood
Hentai Asmodeus older $1.99 1,757 83% 53k $105k (exactly $104,893) HEGA Studio
NALOGI older $1.99 1,515 78% 45k $90k (exactly $90,446) CUTE ANIME GIRLS
Mythmatch $19.99 124 98% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) Team Artichoke
Hentai Stories $9.99 228 83% 6.8k $68k (exactly $68,332) Horny Capybara Studio
ANTHEM#9 $14.99 125 87% 3.8k $56k (exactly $56,212) koeda
Furry Adventure Club and the Holy Grail 🦁 $6.99 161 93% 4.8k $34k (exactly $33,762) Furry Dreams Lab
Jamhouse $7.99 29 100% 870 $7.0k (exactly $6,951) Lumworks
Wide Slash Hero $13.99 14 92% 420 $5.9k (exactly $5,876) CelBranch
Avalon Jewels 2 Collector's Edition $14.99 11 90% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) Anawiki Games
Love x Fantasy: Horny Elf $1.99 44 86% 1.3k $2.6k (exactly $2,627) Mature Games
Cheese Party $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Raincode
See-Through Jewels $8.99 6 66% 180 $1.6k (exactly $1,618) BLAZER inc

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