Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

2D + Bullet Hell: a typical launch earns $384 in its first year

That is the median of 330 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 684 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 20.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 45% on the year before: 557 against 385.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $384
Price vs a year earlier: −22.1%
Releases, 12 months: 557
Upcoming games: 996
Games on the store: 3,096

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

2D + Bullet Hell on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.18%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.07% to 0.34%	21 ranked of 996 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#5,152 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	0.82xhits against expected	0.59x to 1.16x	684 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#3,983 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	−11% to +19%	72 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,336 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+9%review growth against same-age games	−1% to +18%	72 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#366 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 16
Expected: 20.3

Launches: 684
Hit rate: 2.3%2.1% to 3.8%
Expected rate: 3.0%
Against expected: 0.82x0.59x to 1.16x

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

684 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $0
Median: $313
Top tenth: $9,075

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 557
Prior 12 months: 385

Change: +45%
Against Steam: +6%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Bullet HellGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

More with Bullet Hell

pairs with Bullet Hell

Bullet Hell + Bullet Heaven$14,81455 launches priced, 178 releases in 12 months
Bullet Hell + Female Protagonist$4,45135 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Bullet Hell$2,12150 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
Twin Stick Shooter + Bullet Hell$1,69964 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + Bullet Hell$1,41563 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
Bullet Hell + Procedural Generation$1,36634 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Bullet Hell

Verdicts

in development

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