Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Female Protagonist
Of 106 developers who shipped a Female-Led Metroidvania 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.. 323 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×26 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1550 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 323 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $12,142) |
| Top 25% | $78k (exactly $77,695) |
| Top 5% | $736k (exactly $736,220) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 106 |
| Released games | 389 |
| Announced | 323 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 418,776 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 7 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 323 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 · $232M 
CONTROL Ultimate Edition 2020 · $61M 
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2019 · $35M 
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights 2021 · $32M 
Darksiders III 2018 · $15M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hollow Knight: Silksong | $19.99 | 386,977 89% | 12M | $232M (exactly $232,070,107) | Team Cherry | |
| | CONTROL Ultimate Edition | older | $39.99 | 50,602 86% | 1.5M | $61M (exactly $60,707,219) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | older | $39.99 | 29,588 93% | 888k | $35M (exactly $35,496,724) | ArtPlay |
| | ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights | older | $24.99 | 43,092 93% | 1.3M | $32M (exactly $32,306,072) | Live Wire, Adglobe |
| | Darksiders III | older | $39.99 | 12,519 75% | 376k | $15M (exactly $15,019,044) | Gunfire Games |
 | ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist | $24.99 | 17,143 95% | 514k | $13M (exactly $12,852,107) | Adglobe, Live Wire | |
 | ICEY | older | $10.99 | 25,142 89% | 754k | $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) | FantaBlade Network |
 | 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 |
 | Afterimage | older | $24.99 | 6,929 79% | 208k | $5.2M (exactly $5,194,671) | Aurogon Shanghai |
 | Constance | $19.99 | 2,822 82% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,692,353) | Blue Backpack | |
 | SiNiSistar 2 | $14.99 | 3,545 90% | 106k | $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) | Uu | |
 | Kotama and Academy Citadel | $19.99 | 2,542 80% | 76k | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,437) | Atomstring Games | |
 | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | AWAKEN - Astral Blade | $19.99 | 1,121 82% | 34k | $672k (exactly $672,264) | Dark Pigeon Games | |
 | Chrono Gear: Warden of Time | $17.99 | 950 98% | 29k | $513k (exactly $512,715) | Team Chrono Gear, GalaxyTrail | |
 | Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark | $29.99 | 560 65% | 17k | $504k (exactly $503,832) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
 | Succubus Successor: Delilah's Juicy Journey | $14.99 | 883 90% | 26k | $397k (exactly $397,085) | Ramen Cat Studio, 樹画祭 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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