Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / 2D / Incremental
2D + Incremental: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 337 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 678 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 87% on the year before: 802 against 430.
- Price
- $202 median of 337 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −50.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 802 430 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,100 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,144 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. | 0.28%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.17% to 0.48% | 38 ranked of 1,101 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #822 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.36xhits against expected | 0.98x to 1.92x | 678 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,128 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −28%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −34% to −21% | 92 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,137 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −1%review growth against same-age games | −8% to +5% | 92 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #875 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
- 678
- Hit rate
- 2.4%2.1% to 5.5%
- Expected rate
- 1.6%
- Against expected
- 1.36x0.98x to 1.92x
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
678 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
- $303
- Top tenth
- $9,226
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
- +87%
- Against Steam
- +37%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.
- IncrementalGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Shelldiver (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,989 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- (the) Gnorp Apologue (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,623 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.3M
- Nodebuster (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,866 reviews, 97% positiveest. $840k
- Tower Wizard (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,811 reviews, 96% positiveest. $533k
- Cauldron (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,691 reviews, 92% positiveest. $513k
- A Game About Feeding A Black Hole (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,501 reviews, 88% positiveest. $481k
- Proverbs (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,812 reviews, 96% positiveest. $330k
- Chef Knight (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,497 reviews, 94% positiveest. $303k
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 Incremental
pairs with Incremental- Resource Management + Incremental$1,36246 launches priced, 236 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Incremental$1,23332 launches priced, 126 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Incremental$1,13151 launches priced, 139 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Incremental$99930 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Incremental + Creature Collector$91664 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Management + Incremental$81071 launches priced, 241 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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