Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
3D + Emotional: a typical launch earns $506 in its first year
That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 1 of 76 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 53% on the year before: 66 against 43.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $506 median of 34 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −10.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 66 43 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 187 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 424 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. | 0.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.15% | 22 ranked of 187 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,650 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.59xhits against expected | 0.48x to 1.08x | 76 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,287 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
- 76
- Hit rate
- 1.3%0.0% to 3.6%
- Expected rate
- 5.0%
- Against expected
- 0.59x0.48x to 1.08x
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
76 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
- $536
- Top tenth
- $3,096
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
- +53%
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.
- Woodo (opens the Steam store)2026 · 933 reviews, 98% positiveest. $321k
- despelote (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,020 reviews, 95% positiveest. $310k
- Lost & Found: A This Bed We Made Story (opens the Steam store)2026 · 460 reviews, 93% positiveest. $65k
- Cat Island Petrichor (opens the Steam store)2026 · 91 reviews, 71% positiveest. $28k
- The House of Hikmah (opens the Steam store)2026 · 62 reviews, 98% positiveest. $25k
- Dosa Divas (opens the Steam store)2026 · 56 reviews, 96% positiveest. $23k
- The Mosquito Gang (opens the Steam store)2025 · 152 reviews, 70% positiveest. $18k
- Score the Fear (opens the Steam store)2025 · 223 reviews, 97% positiveest. $18k
More with 3D
pairs with 3D- 3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Cozy$3,23738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Economy$3,15761 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Management$2,196130 launches priced, 192 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + 3D$2,162144 launches priced, 256 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Resource Management$2,02434 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
More with Emotional
pairs with Emotional- Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Emotional$3,130121 launches priced, 200 releases in 12 months
- Emotional + Multiple Endings$3,03442 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Emotional$2,67157 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Emotional$2,67167 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Emotional$2,488136 launches priced, 194 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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