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Should I ship a Female-Led Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Female Protagonist
Of 711 developers who shipped a Female-Led Puzzle 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.. 1,072 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×556 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 1,072 games are announced against 390 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,985) |
| Top 5% | $264k (exactly $263,868) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 711 |
| Released games | 3,319 |
| Announced | 1,072 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 50% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
- 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
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 37,009 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 540 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,072 games are announced against 390 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
Resident Evil 2 2019 · $187M 
Portal 2 2011 · $117M 
Rise of the Tomb Raider™ 2016 · $115M 
Tomb Raider Game of the Year 2013 · $104M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Resident Evil 2 | older | $39.99 | 156,065 97% | 4.7M | $187M (exactly $187,231,180) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | Rise of the Tomb Raider™ | older | $29.99 | 127,316 94% | 3.8M | $115M (exactly $114,546,205) | Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux), Nixxes) |
| | 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) |
 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 71,706 84% | 2.2M | $86M (exactly $86,025,688) | Eidos-Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, Nixxe… (Eidos-Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, Nixxes, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral interactive (Linux)) |
 | A Plague Tale: Innocence | older | $39.99 | 63,166 93% | 1.9M | $76M (exactly $75,780,250) | Asobo Studio |
 | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
 | UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection | older | $49.99 | 29,422 90% | 883k | $44M (exactly $44,124,173) | Naughty Dog LLC, Iron Galaxy Studios |
 | GRIS | older | $14.99 | 83,857 96% | 2.5M | $38M (exactly $37,710,493) | Nomada Studio |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | Neva | $19.99 | 9,343 93% | 280k | $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) | Nomada Studio | |
 | Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy | $49.99 | 3,558 92% | 107k | $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) | Asobo Studio | |
 | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
 | A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead | $29.99 | 2,331 74% | 70k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) | Stormind Games | |
 | Alabaster Dawn | · EA | $24.99 | 2,168 94% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,350) | Radical Fish Games |
 | 月华辉映之刻 | $11.99 | 4,227 89% | 127k | $1.5M (exactly $1,520,452) | 侠客狗工作室 | |
 | Tormented Souls 2 | $29.99 | 1,675 88% | 50k | $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) | Dual Effect | |
 | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | Sorry We're Closed | $24.99 | 1,643 98% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,757) | à la mode games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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