Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Military: a typical launch earns $809 in its first year
That is the median of 87 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 21 of 154 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 18% on the year before: 123 against 104.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $809 median of 87 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +90.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 123 104 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 367 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,069 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.
| 2.09%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.37% to 3.99% | 49 ranked of 367 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,006 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.55xhits against expected | 1.16x to 2.07x | 154 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #624 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +25%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +3% to +65% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #611 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +9%review growth against same-age games | −7% to +27% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,617 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
- 154
- Hit rate
- 13.6%8.7% to 19.4%
- Expected rate
- 8.1%
- Against expected
- 1.55x1.16x to 2.07x
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
154 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
- $728
- Top tenth
- $211,969
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
- +18%
- Against Steam
- −13%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.
- WARDOGS (opens the Steam store)2026 · 84,875 reviews, 76% positiveest. $67M
- Gray Zone Warfare (opens the Steam store)2024 · 69,275 reviews, 72% positiveest. $55M
- GROUND BRANCH (opens the Steam store)2026 · 22,430 reviews, 83% positiveest. $13M
- Hell Let Loose: Vietnam (opens the Steam store)2026 · 11,087 reviews, 61% positiveest. $8.9M
- IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,930 reviews, 97% positiveest. $5.3M
- Nuclear Option (opens the Steam store)2023 · 10,455 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.2M
- I Am Your Beast (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,297 reviews, 97% positiveest. $2.1M
- METAL GEAR SOLID - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,367 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.8M
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 Military
pairs with Military- Simulation + Military$2,91247 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- War + Military$2,15564 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Military$1,45661 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
- Military + Wargame$1,21466 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Military$97133 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Military$54557 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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