Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Stealth: a typical launch earns $541 in its first year
That is the median of 82 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 166 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 31% on the year before: 134 against 102.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $541 median of 82 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −34.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 134 102 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 548 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,467 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. | 1.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.68% to 1.81% | 79 ranked of 549 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #208 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.01xhits against expected | 0.70x to 1.50x | 166 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,756 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +26%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −1% to +50% | 67 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #601 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +20%review growth against same-age games | +13% to +29% | 67 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #30 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
- 166
- Hit rate
- 6.0%2.5% to 9.0%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 1.01x0.70x to 1.50x
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
166 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
- $587
- Top tenth
- $21,367
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
- +31%
- Against Steam
- −4%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.
Thief Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 6,593 reviews, 87% positiveest. $2.5M
METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 5,458 reviews, 89% positiveest. $2.2M
Fallen Aces (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,632 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2M
METAL GEAR SOLID - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,367 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.8M
Intravenous 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,091 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.6M
METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,565 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.6M
METAL GEAR SOLID 2: Sons of Liberty - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,580 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.4M
Skin Deep (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,676 reviews, 94% positiveest. $678k
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 Stealth
pairs with Stealth- Stealth + Action-Adventure$89052 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Stealth + Psychological Horror$84843 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Stealth + First-Person$75878 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Stealth$70798 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- Stealth + Survival Horror$70737 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Stealth$60759 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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