Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Action + Beat 'em up: a typical launch earns $262 in its first year

That is the median of 156 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 19 of 331 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 21.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 18% on the year before: 231 against 196.

Price: $262
Price vs a year earlier: −33.4%
Releases, 12 months: 231
Upcoming games: 647
Games on the store: 1,922

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.

Action + Beat 'em up 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.	0.35%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.23% to 0.48%	53 ranked of 647 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#656 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.89xhits against expected	0.65x to 1.22x	331 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#3,483 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	+14%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−4% to +36%	66 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#966 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−1%review growth against same-age games	−10% to +8%	66 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,075 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: 19
Expected: 21.7

Launches: 331
Hit rate: 5.7%3.9% to 8.5%
Expected rate: 6.6%
Against expected: 0.89x0.65x to 1.22x

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

331 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: $243
Top tenth: $33,784

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: 231
Prior 12 months: 196

Change: +18%
Against Steam: −13%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

ActionNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Beat 'em upGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Action

pairs with Action

Action + Mechs$7,85932 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
Action + Bullet Heaven$6,31331 launches priced, 177 releases in 12 months
Action + Co-op$3,733172 launches priced, 259 releases in 12 months
Action + Team-Based$2,97239 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Action + Metroidvania$2,893107 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Action + Fighting$2,52840 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Action

Related niches

pairs with Beat 'em up

Beat 'em up + Action Roguelike$1,49632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Beat 'em up$82946 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Beat 'em up$81039 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Combat + Beat 'em up$80933 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
2D + Beat 'em up$78964 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
Beat 'em up + Action RPG$60730 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Beat 'em up

Verdicts

in development

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