Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Medieval: a typical launch earns $303 in its first year
That is the median of 89 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 172 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 12% on the year before: 119 against 106.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $303 median of 89 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +36.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 119 106 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 415 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,048 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.
| 3.30%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.77% to 6.38% | 39 ranked of 415 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,938 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.61xhits against expected | 1.17x to 2.23x | 172 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #540 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +23%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −4% to +60% | 20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #653 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +1%review growth against same-age games | −11% to +16% | 20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,929 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
- 172
- Hit rate
- 9.4%5.7% to 12.9%
- Expected rate
- 5.1%
- Against expected
- 1.61x1.17x to 2.23x
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
171 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
- $364
- Top tenth
- $63,423
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
- +12%
- Against Steam
- −18%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.
- Half Sword (opens the Steam store)2026 · 29,092 reviews, 72% positiveest. $15M
- Of Ash and Steel (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,122 reviews, 66% positiveest. $3.7M
- The Bloodline (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,787 reviews, 82% positiveest. $1.5M
- Mage Arena (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,821 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.1M
- Dungeon Rampage (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,134 reviews, 91% positiveest. $951k
- Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,912 reviews, 65% positiveest. $822k
- Border Pioneer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,681 reviews, 86% positiveest. $510k
- Bylina (opens the Steam store)2026 · 722 reviews, 72% positiveest. $365k
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 Medieval
pairs with Medieval- Simulation + Medieval$4,85559 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- Medieval + Management$4,85539 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Medieval + Base Building$3,94532 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Medieval + City Builder$3,71240 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Medieval + Dark Fantasy$1,63830 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Building + Medieval$1,49734 launches priced, 43 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.