Games › Settings › Villain Protagonist
Should I ship a Villain-Led game?
Villain Protagonist
Of 62 developers who shipped a Villain-Led 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.. 127 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $14k, ×29 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×884 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 127 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) |
|---|---|
| Median | $14k (exactly $13,941) |
| Top 25% | $48k (exactly $47,981) |
| Top 5% | $420k (exactly $420,020) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 314 |
| Announced | 127 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 10% 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.
- Villain Protagonist
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $27.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $27.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 13,981 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 6 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 127 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
All pairs with Villain Protagonist
No pair with Villain Protagonist has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Skul: The Hero Slayer 2021 · $30M 
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 2024 · $27M 
Maneater 2021 · $26M 
CARRION 2020 · $20M 
Six Days in Fallujah 2023 · EA · $16M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Skul: The Hero Slayer | older | $19.99 | 50,801 93% | 1.5M | $30M (exactly $30,465,360) | SOUTHPAW GAMES |
| | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League | older | $69.99 | 12,718 60% | 382k | $27M (exactly $26,703,985) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Maneater | older | $39.99 | 21,790 87% | 654k | $26M (exactly $26,141,463) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | CARRION | older | $19.99 | 33,270 94% | 998k | $20M (exactly $19,952,019) | Phobia Game Studio |
| | Six Days in Fallujah | · EA older | $39.99 | 13,012 79% | 390k | $16M (exactly $15,610,496) | Highwire Games |
 | Untitled Goose Game | older | $19.99 | 22,797 95% | 684k | $14M (exactly $13,671,361) | House House |
 | Evil Genius 2: World Domination | older | $39.99 | 11,255 69% | 338k | $14M (exactly $13,502,624) | Rebellion |
 | Prototype 2 | older | $39.99 | 10,389 75% | 312k | $12M (exactly $12,463,683) | Radical Entertainment |
 | Dungeons 3 | older | $29.99 | 12,648 93% | 379k | $11M (exactly $11,379,406) | Realmforge Studios |
 | Tyranny | older | $29.99 | 9,877 87% | 296k | $8.9M (exactly $8,886,337) | Obsidian Entertainment |
 | Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition | $49.99 | 2,141 68% | 64k | $3.2M (exactly $3,210,858) | Oxide Games | |
 | OFF | $14.99 | 3,093 95% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) | Mortis Ghost, Fangamer | |
 | The Dark Queen of Mortholme | $4.99 | 4,075 83% | 122k | $610k (exactly $610,028) | Mosu | |
 | None Shall Intrude | $14.99 | 934 73% | 28k | $420k (exactly $420,020) | Aeterna Ludi | |
 | Buggos 2 | $19.99 | 692 83% | 21k | $415k (exactly $414,992) | Intrepid Marmot | |
 | Dungeon Warfare 3 | $18.99 | 679 78% | 20k | $387k (exactly $386,826) | Excidium Inc., Valsar | |
 | Mr. Sleepy Man | $19.99 | 636 98% | 19k | $381k (exactly $381,409) | Devin Santi | |
 | TORMENTOR | $29.99 | 287 49% | 8.6k | $258k (exactly $258,214) | Madmind Studio | |
 | Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival | $9.99 | 826 77% | 25k | $248k (exactly $247,552) | RetroStyle Games | |
 | Sniper Killer | $11.99 | 618 86% | 19k | $222k (exactly $222,295) | Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare |
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.