Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Action / Investigation
Action + Investigation: 31 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 1 of 50 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 3% on the year before: 31 against 32.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 31 32 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 128 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 286 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. | 0.06%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.09% | 12 ranked of 128 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,354 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.74xhits against expected | 0.60x to 1.35x | 50 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,462 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
- 50
- Hit rate
- 2.0%0.0% to 9.5%
- Expected rate
- 4.8%
- Against expected
- 0.74x0.60x to 1.35x
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
50 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
- $313
- Top tenth
- $15,081
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
- −3%
Parent tags
- ActionNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- InvestigationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
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.
- LOCKDOWN Protocol (opens the Steam store)2024 · 16,637 reviews, 86% positiveest. $3.3M
- Tintin Reporter - Cigars of the Pharaoh (opens the Steam store)2023 · 293 reviews, 59% positiveest. $237k
- SEVERANCE (opens the Steam store)2025 · 460 reviews, 70% positiveest. $93k
- Edge of Sanity (opens the Steam store)2024 · 193 reviews, 67% positiveest. $78k
- Lycans (opens the Steam store)2023 · 311 reviews, 91% positiveest. $31k
- Creepy Shift: Uncle Joe’s Motel (opens the Steam store)2026 · 182 reviews, 90% positiveest. $26k
- [Bober Bros] It's Just A Prank (opens the Steam store)2024 · 403 reviews, 87% positiveest. $24k
- Faint Call (opens the Steam store)2024 · 139 reviews, 71% positiveest. $14k
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 Investigation
pairs with Investigation- Story Rich + Investigation$8,90370 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Investigation$4,88542 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Investigation$4,85753 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Investigation$3,96395 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Investigation$3,336112 launches priced, 171 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Investigation$2,89337 launches priced, 79 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.