Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

2D + Text-Based: a typical launch earns $495 in its first year

That is the median of 118 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 8 of 286 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 16.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 108% on the year before: 300 against 144.

Price: $495
Price vs a year earlier: +74.9%
Releases, 12 months: 300
Upcoming games: 384
Games on the store: 1,249

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 + Text-Based 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.	0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.02% to 0.05%	9 ranked of 384 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#2,945 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.56xhits against expected	0.38x to 0.86x	286 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,411 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−22%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−39% to −4%	32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,044 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+17%review growth against same-age games	+4% to +32%	32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#63 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: 8
Expected: 16.7

Launches: 286
Hit rate: 2.8%1.0% to 6.4%
Expected rate: 5.8%
Against expected: 0.56x0.38x to 0.86x

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

286 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: $421
Top tenth: $15,348

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: 300
Prior 12 months: 144

Change: +108%
Against Steam: +51%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.
Text-BasedNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Text-Based

pairs with Text-Based

Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Anime + Text-Based$2,10148 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Text-Based$1,71867 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
Cute + Text-Based$1,36644 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
Choices Matter + Text-Based$1,20374 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + Text-Based$1,13396 launches priced, 190 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Text-Based

Verdicts

in development

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