Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Action / Psychological Horror
Action + Psychological Horror: a typical launch earns $967 in its first year
That is the median of 269 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 554 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 21.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 27% on the year before: 372 against 292.
- Price
- $967 median of 269 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −31.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 372 292 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 993 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,487 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.
| 1.66%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.46% to 3.97% | 79 ranked of 993 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,101 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.03xhits against expected | 0.77x to 1.40x | 554 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,581 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +21%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +5% to +39% | 95 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #731 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 | +4% to +22% | 95 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #155 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
- 554
- Hit rate
- 4.0%2.5% to 6.8%
- Expected rate
- 3.8%
- Against expected
- 1.03x0.77x to 1.40x
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
554 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
- $81
- Median
- $1,031
- Top tenth
- $21,684
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
- +27%
- Against Steam
- −6%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.
- Psychological HorrorGenre 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.
- Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,126 reviews, 89% positiveest. $4.2M
- Crow Country (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,791 reviews, 97% positiveest. $3.2M
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,158 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1.9M
- A Difficult Game About Climbing (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,411 reviews, 87% positiveest. $1.1M
- Zort (opens the Steam store)2024 · 11,760 reviews, 90% positiveest. $927k
- Funnel Runners (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,025 reviews, 82% positiveest. $918k
- Total Chaos (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,569 reviews, 86% positiveest. $794k
- HOLE (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,845 reviews, 93% positiveest. $377k
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 Psychological Horror
pairs with Psychological Horror- Co-op + Psychological Horror$5,48140 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cinematic$5,00947 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Online Co-Op$4,64950 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Multiplayer$4,45153 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Story Rich$3,335269 launches priced, 401 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Female Protagonist$2,91976 launches priced, 102 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.