Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / 2D / Dark Humor
2D + Dark Humor: a typical launch earns $374 in its first year
That is the median of 64 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 135 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 44% on the year before: 111 against 77.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $374 median of 64 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −60.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 111 77 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 226 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 659 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.
| 0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.41% | 18 ranked of 226 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,925 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.03xhits against expected | 0.70x to 1.60x | 135 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,602 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
- 135
- Hit rate
- 5.2%1.6% to 9.4%
- Expected rate
- 5.0%
- Against expected
- 1.03x0.70x to 1.60x
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
135 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
- $0
- Median
- $606
- Top tenth
- $23,706
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
- +44%
Parent tags
- 2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Dark HumorNot 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.
- Mewgenics (opens the Steam store)2026 · 50,493 reviews, 89% positiveest. $29M
- Lucky Tower Ultimate (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,292 reviews, 94% positiveest. $653k
- Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,411 reviews, 70% positiveest. $428k
- Happy Wheels (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,106 reviews, 95% positiveest. $314k
- Mindlock - The Apartment (opens the Steam store)2024 · 632 reviews, 95% positiveest. $192k
- I Hate My Waifu Streamer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 901 reviews, 92% positiveest. $182k
- MOMO Crash (opens the Steam store)2025 · 717 reviews, 89% positiveest. $174k
- Život Není Krásný: Poslední Exekuce (opens the Steam store)2026 · 548 reviews, 97% positiveest. $166k
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
More with Dark Humor
pairs with Dark Humor- First-Person + Dark Humor$4,27530 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Dark Humor$3,93550 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Dark Humor$2,36533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Dark Humor$2,02142 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.