Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Crafting: a typical launch earns $2,448 in its first year
That is the median of 43 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 109 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 88% on the year before: 94 against 50.
- Price
- $2,448 median of 43 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +72.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 94 50 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 417 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 892 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. | 1.55%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.64% to 2.46% | 74 ranked of 417 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #156 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.46xhits against expected | 1.08x to 1.97x | 109 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #826 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −34%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −53% to −5% | 28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,224 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −13%review growth against same-age games | −32% to +2% | 28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,405 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
- 109
- Hit rate
- 16.5%10.1% to 24.1%
- Expected rate
- 10.4%
- Against expected
- 1.46x1.08x to 1.97x
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
109 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
- $32
- Median
- $2,732
- Top tenth
- $160,194
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
- +88%
- Against Steam
- +33%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
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.
- Age of Water (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,882 reviews, 72% positiveest. $1.8M
- Towers of Aghasba (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,905 reviews, 67% positiveest. $1.2M
- Cloudheim (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,825 reviews, 81% positiveest. $1.1M
- In Falsus (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,092 reviews, 90% positiveest. $884k
- My Little Universe (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,506 reviews, 89% positiveest. $457k
- Anomaly President (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,406 reviews, 91% positiveest. $427k
- The Brew Barons (opens the Steam store)2024 · 829 reviews, 75% positiveest. $369k
- Grind Survivors (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,343 reviews, 69% positiveest. $353k
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
More with Crafting
pairs with Crafting- Crafting + Open World Survival Craft$26,87533 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Resource Management$9,79344 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Base Building$8,90179 launches priced, 125 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Life Sim$8,45137 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
- Open World + Crafting$7,48760 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + First-Person$6,99934 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.