Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Cute / Female Protagonist
Cute + Female Protagonist: a typical launch earns $1,884 in its first year
That is the median of 147 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 322 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 29.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 28% on the year before: 236 against 185.
- Price
- $1,884 median of 147 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +13.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 236 185 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 515 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,763 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. | 0.34%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.26% to 0.44% | 64 ranked of 515 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #677 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.86xhits against expected | 0.65x to 1.14x | 322 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,663 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −15% to +21% | 107 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,348 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −6%review growth against same-age games | −12% to 0% | 107 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,052 of 2,461pairs on this board |
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
- 322
- Hit rate
- 7.5%5.3% to 13.2%
- Expected rate
- 9.1%
- Against expected
- 0.86x0.65x to 1.14x
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
321 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
- $81
- Median
- $1,819
- Top tenth
- $70,840
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
- +28%
- Against Steam
- −8%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- CuteNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story (opens the Steam store)2025 · 12,357 reviews, 98% positiveest. $2.1M
Magical Princess (opens the Steam store)2026 · 7,728 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.7M
Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,003 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.3M
Beyond Citadel (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,450 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.3M
Homura Hime (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,370 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.1M
Cuisineer (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,824 reviews, 76% positiveest. $923k
Psychopomp GOLD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,904 reviews, 97% positiveest. $893k
Dolls Nest (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,436 reviews, 88% positiveest. $881k
More with Cute
pairs with Cute- Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
- Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 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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