Games › Rhythm › Rhythm + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led Rhythm game?
Rhythm + Female Protagonist
Of 71 developers who shipped a Female-Led Rhythm 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.. 91 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×5.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2247 the market median. Revenue is up 495% on the market; 91 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $718 (exactly $718) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.6k (exactly $2,601) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $74,479) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 71 |
| Released games | 199 |
| Announced | 91 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 495% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Rhythm
- effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Rhythm; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Visual Novel
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 21,492 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 91 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Rhythm with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Choose Your Own AdventureStrong odds
- + Third-Person ShooterStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ModernFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + ManagementFair
- + Beat 'em upFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M 
Metal: Hellsinger 2022 · $13M 
Crypt of the NecroDancer 2015 · $11M 
Muse Dash 2019 · $10M 
BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE 2020 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ | older | $39.39 | 19,507 94% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,051,422) | SEGA |
| | Metal: Hellsinger | older | $29.99 | 13,989 96% | 420k | $13M (exactly $12,585,903) | The Outsiders |
| | Crypt of the NecroDancer | older | $14.99 | 23,593 95% | 708k | $11M (exactly $10,609,772) | Brace Yourself Games |
| | Muse Dash | older | $2.99 | 112,437 91% | 3.4M | $10M (exactly $10,085,599) | peropero |
| | BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE | older | $19.99 | 9,598 91% | 288k | $5.8M (exactly $5,755,921) | Awe Interactive |
 | UNBEATABLE | $27.99 | 6,552 92% | 197k | $5.5M (exactly $5,501,714) | D-CELL GAMES | |
 | 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.) | |
 | Sayonara Wild Hearts | older | $12.99 | 8,023 96% | 241k | $3.1M (exactly $3,126,563) | Simogo |
 | DEEMO -Reborn- | older | $24.99 | 3,188 87% | 96k | $2.4M (exactly $2,390,044) | Rayark International Limited |
 | Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis | $16.99 | 3,974 91% | 119k | $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) | Alliance Arts, WHO YOU | |
 | PLATiNA :: LAB | $19.99 | 1,780 50% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,466) | HIGH-END Games | |
 | In Falsus | $39.99 | 788 89% | 24k | $945k (exactly $945,364) | lowiro | |
 | Metro Gravity | $12.99 | 852 92% | 26k | $332k (exactly $332,024) | mrkogamedev | |
 | People of Note | $24.99 | 389 89% | 12k | $292k (exactly $291,633) | Iridium Studios | |
 | MOMO Crash | $12.00 | 707 89% | 21k | $255k (exactly $254,520) | SKOOTA GAMES | |
 | HYPERBEAT | $14.99 | 381 99% | 11k | $171k (exactly $171,336) | Dreamware Media | |
 | Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action | $19.99 | 225 84% | 6.8k | $135k (exactly $134,932) | Moonana |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.