Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Adventure / Realistic
Adventure + Realistic: a typical launch earns $809 in its first year
That is the median of 284 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 566 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 24.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 1% on the year before: 337 against 342.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $809 median of 284 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −28.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 337 342 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 885 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,303 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. | 0.78%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.49% to 1.12% | 82 ranked of 886 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #308 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.90xhits against expected | 0.67x to 1.21x | 566 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,441 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +34%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +14% to +56% | 87 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #420 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −3%review growth against same-age games | −14% to +8% | 87 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,196 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
- 566
- Hit rate
- 3.9%2.0% to 6.0%
- Expected rate
- 4.4%
- Against expected
- 0.90x0.67x to 1.21x
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
566 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
- $40
- Median
- $848
- Top tenth
- $17,212
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
- −1%
- Against Steam
- −28%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.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,669 reviews, 65% positiveest. $2.7M
- Train Sim World® 5 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,038 reviews, 80% positiveest. $2.3M
- OUTBRK (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,235 reviews, 82% positiveest. $2.3M
- VLADiK BRUTAL (opens the Steam store)2024 · 9,559 reviews, 89% positiveest. $2.3M
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,305 reviews, 66% positiveest. $1.3M
- Arizona Sunshine® VR 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,278 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.3M
- Alaskan Road Truckers (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,717 reviews, 62% positiveest. $1.2M
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,728 reviews, 59% positiveest. $1.1M
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
More with Realistic
pairs with Realistic- Multiplayer + Realistic$17,04044 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Life Sim$6,57659 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Realistic$5,46362 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 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.