Do I ship it?

GamesQuick-Time EventsQuick-Time Events + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Quick-Time Events game?

Quick-Time Events + Female Protagonist

Of 45 developers who shipped a Female-Led Quick-Time Events 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2620 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 58 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $989 → $898 → $32k → $2.2k → $1.3k → $180 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,336)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,789)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 105
Announced 58
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 80% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 66,639 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
Tomb Raider Game of the Year older $19.99 173,270 95% 5.2M $104M (exactly $103,910,019) Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes)
Resident Evil 6 older $19.99 51,420 77% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,836,574) Capcom
Resident Evil 5 older $19.99 48,521 87% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,098,044) Capcom
Beyond: Two Souls older $19.99 37,154 87% 1.1M $22M (exactly $22,281,254) Quantic Dream
The Walking Dead: Season Two older $14.99 26,848 96% 805k $12M (exactly $12,073,546) Telltale Games
Tales from the Borderlands older $19.99 15,101 93% 453k $9.1M (exactly $9,056,070) Telltale Games
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan older $19.99 9,244 76% 277k $5.5M (exactly $5,543,627) Supermassive Games
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered older $9.99 6,743 79% 202k $2.0M (exactly $2,020,877) Quantic Dream, Aspyr Media (remastered… (Quantic Dream, Aspyr Media (remastered version))
Hello Love: 18 Again $19.99 2,075 92% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) 念念而忘(Echofall Studio)
Rally Arcade Classics $19.99 125 79% 3.8k $75k (exactly $74,962) NETK2GAMES
Sorry! I surrounded beauty! $5.99 344 82% 10k $62k (exactly $61,817) Really Games
Sex Knight~Prey of the Lustful Nobles~ $10.99 82 82% 2.5k $27k (exactly $27,035) アイオライト
Dreams of Aether $2.99 228 96% 6.8k $20k (exactly $20,452) Lepioid LLC
Legends of Savvarah: Children of the Sun $7.99 75 92% 2.3k $18k (exactly $17,978) ST Sinovar
Hell's 8th Avenue: Miori's Mysterious Notebook $10.99 45 66% 1.4k $15k (exactly $14,836) Magical Ponpon
Disco Samurai $9.99 45 88% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Pixel Fiber Games

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