Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Arcade / Female Protagonist
Arcade + Female Protagonist: a typical launch earns $961 in its first year
That is the median of 68 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 120 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 82 against 76.
- Price
- $961 median of 68 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −8.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 82 76 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 132 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 557 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.15% | 14 ranked of 132 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,704 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.63xhits against expected | 0.43x to 1.02x | 120 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,111 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 120
- Hit rate
- 4.2%0.9% to 8.8%
- Expected rate
- 8.1%
- Against expected
- 0.63x0.43x to 1.02x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
119 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $16
- Median
- $909
- Top tenth
- $24,318
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +8%
Parent tags
- ArcadeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Female ProtagonistNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
- UNBEATABLE (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,647 reviews, 92% positiveest. $3.8M
- Rift of the NecroDancer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,934 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2.3M
- Yooka-Replaylee (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,046 reviews, 92% positiveest. $635k
- Pepper Grinder (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,118 reviews, 85% positiveest. $339k
- Nitro Express (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,072 reviews, 75% positiveest. $282k
- Touhou Kinjoukyou ~ Fossilized Wonders. (opens the Steam store)2025 · 837 reviews, 91% positiveest. $254k
- Guns and Nuns: Storming Hell (opens the Steam store)2026 · 926 reviews, 88% positiveest. $187k
- Shooters, Ready! (opens the Steam store)2025 · 810 reviews, 99% positiveest. $82k
More with Arcade
pairs with Arcade- Co-op + Arcade$1,37646 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01169 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Local Co-Op$96050 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Anime$91052 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Difficult$80679 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Driving + Arcade$70871 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
More with Female Protagonist
pairs with Female Protagonist- Hack and Slash + Female Protagonist$10,32730 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- JRPG + Female Protagonist$6,70840 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Female Protagonist + Action Roguelike$6,55637 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Female Protagonist$5,30753 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
- Female Protagonist + LGBTQ+$4,85853 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
- Bullet Hell + Female Protagonist$4,45135 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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