Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Emotional / Female Protagonist
Emotional + Female Protagonist: a typical launch earns $2,225 in its first year
That is the median of 43 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 80 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 9% on the year before: 61 against 56.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $2,225 median of 43 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +10.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 61 56 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 155 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 449 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.
| 0.24%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.42% | 17 ranked of 155 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,922 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.04xhits against expected | 0.71x to 1.59x | 80 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,546 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +40%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +6% to +94% | 49 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #309 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +11%review growth against same-age games | +3% to +20% | 49 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #233 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
- 80
- Hit rate
- 8.8%2.7% to 18.8%
- Expected rate
- 8.3%
- Against expected
- 1.04x0.71x to 1.59x
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
80 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
- $195
- Median
- $2,428
- Top tenth
- $93,058
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
- +9%
- Against Steam
- −20%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- EmotionalNot 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.
- WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT (opens the Steam store)2023 · 7,312 reviews, 98% positiveest. $4.1M
- Neva (opens the Steam store)2024 · 9,380 reviews, 93% positiveest. $3.5M
- Sweet Home (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,073 reviews, 94% positiveest. $919k
- Refind Self: The Personality Test Game (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,604 reviews, 87% positiveest. $549k
- Herdling (opens the Steam store)2025 · 892 reviews, 93% positiveest. $451k
- Schrödinger's Call (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,143 reviews, 94% positiveest. $416k
- Your Mother (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,470 reviews, 92% positiveest. $165k
- KAMITSUBAKI CITY ENSEMBLE (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,452 reviews, 70% positiveest. $117k
More with Emotional
pairs with Emotional- Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Emotional$3,130121 launches priced, 200 releases in 12 months
- Emotional + Multiple Endings$3,03442 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Emotional$2,67157 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Emotional$2,67167 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Emotional$2,488136 launches priced, 194 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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