Do I ship it?

Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Perma Death game?

Perma Death + Female Protagonist

Of 71 developers who shipped a Female-Led Perma Death 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.. 85 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×440 the market median. Revenue is up 305% on the market; 85 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 305% on the market, 85 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Perma Death + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 71
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $2.1k → $600 → $2.5k → $1.3k → $7.5k → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Perma Death + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 71
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 25% $9.7k (exactly $9,712)
Top 5% $209k (exactly $208,986)
Developers, 2 yr 71
Released games 158
Announced 85
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 305% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Perma Death
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Perma Death; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Roguelike, Action Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 118,497 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $9.7k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Strong odds15 devs · median $55k · 7 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair49 devs · median $10k · 57 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair65 devs · median $8.1k · 66 announced
  4. + Creature CollectorFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  5. + Mystery DungeonFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + PiratesFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 14 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 55 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair27 devs · median $959 · 28 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair46 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  10. + Time ManagementFair49 devs · median $539 · 66 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair21 devs · median $538 · 18 announced
  12. + 3D PlatformerFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced

All 164 pairs on the Perma Death page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hades II 2025 · $103M Othercide 2020 · $4.1M Invisible, Inc. 2015 · $3.1M Crown Trick 2020 · $2.7M 30XX 2023 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hades II $29.99 114,419 95% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,942,774) Supergiant Games
Othercide older $29.99 4,516 82% 135k $4.1M (exactly $4,063,045) Lightbulb Crew
Invisible, Inc. older $19.99 5,096 91% 153k $3.1M (exactly $3,056,071) Klei Entertainment
Crown Trick older $19.99 4,509 85% 135k $2.7M (exactly $2,704,047) NEXT Studios
30XX older $19.99 2,514 90% 75k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,646) Batterystaple Games
ScourgeBringer older $16.99 2,642 87% 79k $1.3M (exactly $1,346,627) Flying Oak Games, E-Studio
Shelter older $14.99 2,683 85% 80k $1.2M (exactly $1,206,545) Might and Delight
Tower Hunter: Erza's Trial older $17.99 1,852 70% 56k $1.0M (exactly $999,524) IceSitruuna
Eldritch older $14.99 1,698 88% 51k $764k (exactly $763,591) Minor Key Games
Battle Shapers $24.99 984 80% 30k $738k (exactly $737,705) Metric Empire
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
House of Necrosis $11.99 581 94% 17k $209k (exactly $208,986) Warkus
Astral Throne $19.99 270 80% 8.1k $162k (exactly $161,919) Zero Sun Games
Starlight Revolver · EA $12.99 404 54% 12k $157k (exactly $157,439) Pahdo Labs
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO
DISORDER $29.99 123 50% 3.7k $111k (exactly $110,663) GRUMPY
BroomSweeper $17.99 193 75% 5.8k $104k (exactly $104,162) BandsWithLegends
Dicealot $14.99 218 78% 6.5k $98k (exactly $98,035) goodviewgames

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