Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Adventure + Exploration: a typical launch earns $847 in its first year

That is the median of 1,222 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 175 of 2,425 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 158.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 27% on the year before: 1,899 against 1,498.

Price: $847
Price vs a year earlier: −12.8%
Releases, 12 months: 1,899
Upcoming games: 6,210
Games on the store: 14,034

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Adventure + Exploration on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	10.66%share of upcoming wishlist heat	6.51% to 17.93%	689 ranked of 6,211 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#14 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.10xhits against expected	0.98x to 1.24x	2,425 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,200 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+5% to +20%	505 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#994 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+5%review growth against same-age games	+1% to +9%	505 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#556 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 175
Expected: 158.6

Launches: 2,425
Hit rate: 7.3%6.1% to 10.0%
Expected rate: 6.5%
Against expected: 1.10x0.98x to 1.24x

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

2,426 launches

Estimated 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: $708
Top tenth: $50,505

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 1,899
Prior 12 months: 1,498

Change: +27%
Against Steam: −6%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

AdventureNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
ExplorationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with Adventure

pairs with Adventure

Adventure + Cozy$32,10838 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Narrative$12,85033 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Adventure + LGBTQ+$7,36637 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Online Co-Op$6,34186 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Base Building$5,35342 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Building$4,85745 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Adventure

More with Exploration

pairs with Exploration

Exploration + Cozy$24,01549 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Open World Survival Craft$13,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
Driving + Exploration$10,40830 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Multiplayer$8,00174 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Online Co-Op$7,08069 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
Co-op + Exploration$5,14762 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Exploration

Verdicts

in development

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