Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
2D + Physics: a typical launch earns $212 in its first year
That is the median of 124 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 250 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 54% on the year before: 226 against 147.
- Price
- $212 median of 124 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +21.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 226 147 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 359 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,338 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. | 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.05% | 11 ranked of 359 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,797 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.82xhits against expected | 0.56x to 1.39x | 250 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,947 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
- 250
- Hit rate
- 1.6%0.7% to 2.8%
- Expected rate
- 2.2%
- Against expected
- 0.82x0.56x to 1.39x
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
250 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
- $202
- Top tenth
- $2,627
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
- +54%
Parent tags
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.
- Ballionaire (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,406 reviews, 85% positiveest. $601k
- World of Goo 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 805 reviews, 87% positiveest. $489k
- Bionic Bay (opens the Steam store)2025 · 764 reviews, 84% positiveest. $387k
- Happy Wheels (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,106 reviews, 95% positiveest. $314k
- Pinball Spire (opens the Steam store)2024 · 411 reviews, 84% positiveest. $125k
- Nuclear Design Bureau (opens the Steam store)2026 · 316 reviews, 73% positiveest. $64k
- The Bibites: Digital Life (opens the Steam store)2025 · 219 reviews, 96% positiveest. $44k
- MainFrames (opens the Steam store)2025 · 167 reviews, 88% positiveest. $44k
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 Physics
pairs with Physics- Building + Physics$2,16430 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Physics$2,06074 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Physics$1,72852 launches priced, 181 releases in 12 months
- Comedy + Physics$1,61742 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Physics$1,24262 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Physics$1,11244 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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